Day 18 The Promise of God in Person

Posted on: March 26, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Isaiah 64:1

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down. . . .

Isaiah 59:15b-17

The LORD saw it, and it displeased him

that there was no justice.

He saw that there was no man,

and wondered that there was no one to intercede;

then his own arm brought him salvation,

and his righteousness upheld him.

He put on righteousness as a breastplate,

and a helmet of salvation on his head;

he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,

and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.

Zechariah 2:10-11

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

Picking Up the Thread

Shortly after the temple dedication, the LORD appeared to Solomon. God reiterated the promise of dwelling with his people in the temple. However, he also issued a warning: “But if you turn aside from following me . . . and . . . go serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them . . . and this house will become a heap of ruins” (1 Kings 9:6-8). Indeed, within a few years, Solomon would forsake the LORD for the gods of the many foreign wives he took. Within a century, the kingdom would split in two.

Through the centuries even after periods of renewed faithfulness, idolatry and injustice seduced God’s people. Finally, after decades of warning through the prophets, in 587 BC the LORD allowed the Babylonians to capture Jerusalem, destroy the temple and carry off the people for seventy years. During that exile, they cried out to the LORD to purify their hearts and restore them to Zion. They clung to the promises that accompanied the prophets’ warnings. The LORD had declared that in the end, he would have to come himself to save his people. God’s plan resonated with their deep desire, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down” (Isaiah 64:1).

The whole history of Israel becomes a paradigm for the human race. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot clean up our act. We cannot change our hearts. We may strive to create a good life apart from God, but we always fail. We clash with each other in self-pursuits. The stronger dominate the weaker. The crafty cheat the simple. The greedy take all they can. As a human race, we bring destruction and chaos upon ourselves.

Our verses from Isaiah 59 portray God’s coming to the same conclusion: “The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was . . . no one to intercede” (Isaiah 59:16). God knew that to save us he would have to take responsibility for those he made. He would have to avert his own wrath against our corruption of his good creation. Without taking away our free will, God would enact a way to change the human heart from the inside out.

In old movies, we might see the hero take off his coat and then roll up his sleeves. He bares his arms for the fight, revealing his prowess and his preparedness. This signals that he is ready to take on the villain. We see this same intention when Isaiah writes, “The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations” (52:10). God promised to come down here and by his own “arm” dispatch the enemy, both within and without, to make things right. As we see in the Zechariah passage, the LORD promised to dwell in the midst of his people in a greater, more intimate way than ever before since Eden (Zechariah 2:10).

Often Biblical promises are multi-layered. A people in exile would have rejoiced just to get back to Jerusalem, rebuild the temple and return to how the LORD used to meet his people there. Indeed, that happened. But they realized it wasn’t enough. A greater arrival of God in their midst was needed. For centuries more, they watched for the LORD to come as a mighty redeemer. They focused on the passages about a warrior savior who subdues enemies. However, they overlooked the surprise arrival of a suffering servant who could remake not just the nation but the human heart.

Stitching It In

The decisive change that leads to spiritual transformation involves the humility to say, “I can’t. But God, you can.” This fundamental insight from Scripture is embedded in the first of the “Twelve Steps” of Alcoholics Anonymous: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.” No one goes there easily. One of my toddler’s first sentences is the heart cry of every human, “I can do it myself!” Oh, how we try to live managing our own lives. How we don’t want to need God! Or, for that matter, anyone else.

Once more, Isaiah cuts straight to the quick: “You were wearied with the length of your way, but you did not say, ‘It is hopeless’” (Isaiah 57:10). Instead, each morning, we regather our self-strength and try once more to solve our lives in our own wisdom and strength. If we are blessed, we come to the realization of how helpless we are before too much irreversible harm has been done. We finally call out, “O that you come down to save me!” (paraphrased from Isaiah 64:1). It is then we discover how the LORD has been waiting to hear this. He knows there is no one to intercede, so he has bared his holy arm in order to save us.

Praying Along the Pattern

I have been missing you with an ancient longing.

Since Eden, we have felt the inconsolable loss.

For so long I did not know how to say it.

There was just a missing piece,

Something more I knew was supposed to be there.

But I did not want to ask you for it.

I feared what I might lose if you came down.

Yet all the time the pit in me deepened.

I kept trying to fill it with more of myself,

And only fell further into nothingness.

In your mercy, you let my misery go on,

Until at last, but not for the last time,

I said, “I can’t. You can. Oh my Father,

Would you come down? Would you

Bare your holy arm, scatter the darkness

And dwell with me once more?”

Posted in: Lent

Day 17 God Dwells in the Temple

Posted on: March 25, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

1 Kings 8:22-24, 27-30

Context Note: This passage presents Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

Picking Up the Thread

The LORD’s people carried the ark of the covenant through the forty years of wilderness wandering. They arrived in the land promised to them, yet for more than 400 more years, the tabernacle of the LORD’s presence remained in a tent, not a permanent structure. Around 1000 BC, King David desired to create a magnificent temple for the LORD. Through the prophet Nathan, God commended David for this vision but also told him the temple would be a work for David’s son to complete. This news came wrapped in the promise of steadfast love to the line of David. There would always be a king on the Davidic throne (2 Samuel 7:4-17). In today’s passage, we see how the word of the LORD came true. David’s son Solomon oversaw the construction of the temple and then held a huge dedication service.

In his magnificent prayer, Solomon acknowledges the paradox that the uncontainable Creator God could live in a human-made structure: “Behold heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house” (1 Kings 8:27). Surrounding religions might well have thought that their gods actually dwelt in the temple humans built. But the Hebrews knew better. The one true God transcends earth and even the cosmos. God is beyond and independent of the universe. He does not require his creation. His power does not wax and wane according to the levels of devotion of his worshippers. Yet by his own choice, the LORD is also immanent. That means he can accommodate himself to our capacity. He can get down on our level. Without restricting himself at all, the LORD can choose to be particularly present to his people in one place. How can it be that our God can be everywhere all at once and still in a particular place at the same time?

The key is relationship. Unlike the capricious gods of Israel’s neighbors, the LORD of Israel remained steady in his freely chosen care for his people. Solomon grasped this in praying, “[T]here is no God like you . . . keeping covenant and showing steadfast love” (1 Kings 8:23). The God who is beyond time and space enters the place and time of worship in the temple without at all compromising his omnipresence. Through his relationship of love, he stoops to make his name, his essence, especially present in the temple. For centuries following Solomon’s prayer, the LORD would be faithful to his promises to meet his people there.

Stitching It In

From childhood, I was taught that the answer to the question “Where is God?” is always “Everywhere!” Indeed, I love the Isaac Watts hymn “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” in which we sing, “And everywhere that man can be / Thou, God, art present there.” In that sense, no one place is holier than another. Wherever we are, we have access to the God who made us and loves us.

However, we also know that in the way we experience the world, it’s easier to find God in some places more than in others. Do a quick diagnostic. Do you find God’s presence during stop-and-go traffic on an interstate as easily as when looking at a mountain view? Of course not. Our awareness of the God who is everywhere gets enhanced not only by environment but also by familiarity and history.

I am moved to pray when I go into the Dunham Chapel where I have worshipped with a beloved community for twenty years. I feel the resonance with all the moments I’ve met Christ there at his table. Even in silence, I hear the instruments tuned to his praise. The hymns we have sung there echo in my soul. In that room, I’ve led two of my children to take sacred vows of marriage. I’ve claimed the resurrection of Jesus for my father. I’ve taught Bible stories to children and experienced being “inside” the story of Jesus through the stained glass windows. Sure, God is just as present on the burning pavement of the parking lot, but I make connection much more readily in that little temple.

What are some of your favorite meeting places with the God who dwells with us? Perhaps there’s a chair where you meet the LORD daily in prayer and Scripture. Maybe there’s a place you visited only once, but it still inspires you. Maybe the “place” is a song you return to or particular passages you keep reciting. Visit these temples in your prayers today. Give thanks that though the reaches of interstellar space cannot contain our God, he still visits you consistently in particular places where you seek him.

Praying Along the Pattern

You are faithful, O God our Father!

You show up when we gather in your name.

You let yourself be found when we seek you

Where you have given yourself to be known:

In Scripture and the breaking of the bread.

I thank you especially today for

The sanctuary and chapel at our church,

For the tree I sat in daily in high school,

For the chair where I meet you now,

With coffee and a Bible before the street lights

Blink off in the dawn.

I thank you for passages from which

You spring from the page into my heart.

I thank you for walks in the woods,

And Christmas Eve services,

For midnight contemplations and sunrise Easters,

For the awareness that around the world

In every hour prayers rise and you reply.

Blessed are you, God of steadfast love.

Posted in: Lent

Day 16 God Dwells in the Tent of Meeting

Posted on: March 24, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Exodus 25:8-9; 29:41-46

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you, concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and all of its furniture, so you shall make it.

The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

Picking Up the Thread

Several key depictions of God’s dwelling with his people appear in these verses. Although a tabernacle is simply a dwelling, the word usually has spiritual associations meaning the place on earth where a god chooses to be known to a people. In that sense, “the sanctuary” is another way of saying “the tabernacle.” For us who worship the one true God who is everywhere all at once, the tabernacle is the place where God adapts himself to our limitations. He covenants to show up in a particular place. The people would go to the tabernacle to worship and to offer sacrifices for sins or make offerings of thanksgiving. They would go to offer their prayers to the LORD. Again, God can hear us from any place, but he accommodates himself to our need for a consistent place set apart where we can count on connecting with God. Thus, the tabernacle was a symbol of God’s dwelling with his people, a symbol of a reality they experienced.

After they left Egypt and were on their way to the Promised Land, the people first had two such holy places. The tabernacle was set up in the center of the camp. Inside it was the ark of the covenant containing the Ten Commandments. On top of the ark was the mercy seat, the place where the blood of atoning sacrifice could be offered. The tabernacle reminded the people of what the LORD had done in the past, assured them of a future in the promised land of Canaan, and became the focus for present relationship with the God who dwelled with them in the tabernacle in a special way.

In the early days after Egypt, the tent of meeting was separate from the tabernacle. It was erected outside the camp, and Moses could go there to speak with the LORD. The people could see Moses and God were talking when the pillar of cloud came down to the tent. But not only Moses prayed there for “everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting” (Exodus 33:7). Eventually, the tabernacle was set up inside the tent of meeting. Whenever the people moved ahead in the wilderness, they carried all the pieces of the tabernacle and tent of meeting, setting it all up in each new place. In this way, the dwelling of God with his people went wherever his people went. Israel’s God was never confined to one geographic location. But in every place, these accouterments of worship affirmed one central desire of the LORD: “I will dwell among them.” God passionately and persistently longs to be in the midst of his beloved.

Stitching It In

The free intimacy between Adam, Eve and the LORD in the Garden of Eden was severed. The tabernacle in the tent of meeting allowed the people to enter into relationship with the God who had redeemed them from slavery. But the very holy nature of the ark, the jar of manna, and the mercy seat, all kept veiled behind the curtains, reminded the people that God was not safe. His holiness was dangerous. Their mission to become a people of his own possession in Canaan was serious business. The LORD intended to bless and redeem the world through their distinctive worship and witness. However, many times in their history Israel would yearn for a more manageable god. They would grow weary of all the sacrifices. They would long for freedom to be more like their neighbors. Being the chosen ones placed a heavy burden on the former Hebrew slaves. The world depended on them. Their God expected much from them.

Thus, these symbols and rituals of worship played a crucial role in maintaining their distinct identity. The ark with the tablets of the law, carried for forty years through the desert, reminded the people of what God had done for them. As Moses would say, “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?. . . Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, signs, wonders . . . by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm . . . all of which the LORD your God did for you before your eyes. To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other beside him” (Deuteronomy 4:7-8, 34-35).

The LORD God was reweaving his tapestry of humanity flourishing as his image makers and remaking the earth into a Garden temple again. He honors us by asking for our participation. We have a new pattern to present to the world, and it is glorious. But it is not natural to our inwardly focused wills. To live within God’s new pattern, we require the rhythm and ritual of worship, both personal and corporate. We need the signs that remind us of all God has done. The story of his Word rehearsed and pondered over and over. The sacraments enacted. The clear teaching that propels us to live and show a more beautiful pattern. For what news we have to share! God dwells with his people!

Praying Along the Pattern

I confess Lord Jesus Christ that sometimes

I wonder if it really matters that I tell your story.

Aren’t there many ways and many gods that work for people?

Can’t people just choose and find their own way?

Won’t it all work out in the end?

But then I remember the story of what you did.

I recall why you commanded me to rehearse it.

For when a son asks,

“What’s the meaning of these laws God gave us?

Why do they matter anymore?”

You told fathers how to reply,

“We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And

The LORD brought us out with a mighty hand.”

You are no abstract set of ideas.

You are not a philosophical option.

You are the God who saves,

Ever since we were made and until time ends,

You are the God who reaches in and pulls us out.

I was blind, but now I see, at least a little bit.

I was lost, but now I have tasted home.

I messed up, did some damage,

But found the real atonement of grace.

I was alone as alone could be, but now

I know that you are with me.

Who has such a God as this!

You dwell with us forever.

Posted in: Lent

Day 15 God Dwells in the Garden Temple

Posted on: March 23, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

WEEK THREE
GOD WILL DWELL WITH US!

Chas Hathaway. I Will Help. ChristianArtExpo. Etsy.

In these next two weeks, we will reverently contemplate what I believe to be the Golden Thread of Scripture. The very heart of the story is God’s intent to dwell among us in communion so intimate that we will know that we are his people and the LORD I AM is our dear God. Simply put, the LORD I AM wants to be with us. He refuses to be without us. And so no matter how we have torn the pattern, he has a plan to reweave his tapestry of created life. No matter how much we have run from him, the triune God has a way to come find us and sew us back into his story. The Golden Thread of Scripture’s tapestry is God with us forever. This is also the priceless thread with which our lives are stitched together in hope and joy.

God’s dwelling with us weaves through the whole narrative of Scripture. A means for our relating personally and lovingly to our Creator was established in the beginning. We were meant to walk with God in the Garden sharing sweet communion. But through our rebellion, we lost access to Eden. The rest of the story of Scripture reveals God’s plan to re-establish connection. To be with us. To be in relationship with us. In our metaphor of the tapestry, the golden central strand was frayed by human sin. But God is enacting a plan to repair this connecting strand of his presence with us. He intends to reweave the whole tapestry of creation around this thread of his dwelling once again with us.

This dramatic painting envisions a Jesus who has traversed the lowest valleys and highest peaks reaching out to us. He wants to gather us to himself and come alongside us for our journey through the ups and downs of life in the world. He is the God who simply will not be without us.

GOD DWELLS IN THE GARDEN TEMPLE

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Genesis 2:7-8, 15, 19, 22, 25; 3:8

[T]hen the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Picking Up the Thread and Stitching It In

I love this “hands-on” account of the creation of humanity. In Genesis 1, we read how God brought forth everything by the creative authority of his Word. In Genesis 2, we see the tender, personal interaction between the Creator and his image bearers. This version is “anthropomorphic,” showing God who is eternal spirit in terms descriptive of how a human would act. Therefore, some might say this account is primitive and merely metaphorical. But that would be to miss its profound depths. A metaphor is always meant to show something real through comparison. We take in its word pictures in all their evocative specificity to receive an understanding of what they point to. If we try on these verses according to their own terms, we will experience how they take us to some intimate truths about our Creator. We will discover how rich, how deep and how true these words are. Let’s look closely at a few threads.

Personal Engagement. We witness the LORD God creating the first man with personal shaping. In God’s “hands,” Adam was made from the stuff of earth. But that’s not all. How intimate is the picture of God’s breathing his own breath into the man’s nostrils! When we recall that the Hebrew word for “breath” is the same word for “spirit,” we feel the intended communion. God’s own personal Spirit brings the physical body to life. We live as God’s image by his breath, his very Spirit, respiring within us.

Participation Planned. Genesis visualizes the LORD as the great Gardener who prepared Eden for his supreme creation. With an artist’s anticipation of showing his beloved his work, God takes the man—how? By the hand. In his own divine hand! He places Adam in the Garden as a participant in its shaping and growth as if to say, “Here, I created all this out of nothing, but I left some work for you to do. I want you to bring your mind and creative spirit to bear through your hands and muscles to tend this creation over which I have placed you.”

Then, in a playful, touching scene, the LORD of all fashions the animals and shows them one by one to the man: “Take a look. Give each a name, and I will call it by that name too.” We cannot create out of nothing. But our God made us to participate with him in ordering all life.

Communion Completes Us. The very life of the triune God is a communion of love. Father, Son and Spirit ever dance in and out of one another. Creation came from the overflow of this love. Thus, God made his image bearers for relationships of love with him and one another. Again, we see deep intimacy and direct involvement as the LORD takes a rib from Adam to form the woman. The word translated here as “helper” means one called alongside to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. To fully be who we were made to be, we need to be in relationship with others. In the beginning, nothing stood between the man and the woman. They were completely exposed to one another. All was known and no shame provoked hiding.

To Be With Us Directly. Nothing stood between our first parents and the Creator. Eden was made to be a meeting place between God and humanity. The LORD withdrew enough of his radiant omnipotence that his creation could meet with him directly without being destroyed. Scripture has always portrayed the one true God as being mighty enough to create all things yet tender enough to relate personally and truly to his creation. He accommodates himself to our frailty and does not chide us for our limitations. In the beginning, God dwelt among his people.

Daily Meeting. Finally, and sadly, we learn so much about what was intended just as all was lost. Scripture tells us that after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, the LORD came walking in the Garden in the cool of the evening. We get the sense that this was part of the rhythm of life in Eden. God did not beat down upon the man and woman with a constant, inescapable, overwhelming presence. He withdrew so that they could enjoy and tend the Garden. At the end of the day, he walked to them. That is, God accommodated himself to a form that was recognizable and relatable to them. He came to be with them. The Garden was a temple, a meeting place between God and humanity. That has always been the plan!

Praying Along the Pattern

Father, these words make me ache!

For what is and what is lost.

I hear how personally you shaped us.

The uniqueness of my body,

The one-of-a-kind information in my cells,

These are your fingerprints upon me!

I feel the closeness of your breath,

As I breathe the life-giving air.

My very respiration in all its necessity

Is but a sign of how you blow life into me.

I have known the goodness of work,

When the effort expended seems to flow

From a great desire to do, make, or shape,

To join you in ordering creation.

Now I know why sunset makes me sad.

Not just the ending of another brief day.

But ancient memory that this is when

You walked with us in sweet communion.

Oh come again to make this tired earth

An Eden where we can be close as breath,

Close as voice, close as heartbeats

With you and one another.

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights. c. 1500, Musea del Prado, Madrid.

Posted in: Lent

Day 14 The Lamb on the Throne

Posted on: March 22, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Revelation 7:9-17

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and serve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

the sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Picking Up the Thread

Today’s scene before the Lamb enhances a theme begun in yesterday’s passage. Let’s go back and explore it in more depth. The angelic beings proclaim the worthiness of the Lamb to open the scroll of God’s future for creation. In their praise, they declare, “[B]y your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe . . . and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

This harks back to one of the LORD’s original purposes for his people. Uniquely gifted with consciousness, speech, reflection and capacity to relate to our Creator, we were made to give voice to all creation in praise. When the world fell, humanity’s intimacy with God was severed. We lost our deep connection with each other and with all creation over which we had been placed. Each person became imprisoned in the loneliness of self. God’s long-term plan of salvation, however, included calling one particular people to be a light in the dark for all people. We hear this in Exodus when the LORD speaks to his people after the blood of the lamb saved them from the angel of death and his mighty power led them through the Red Sea:

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus19:4-6)

God’s people are set apart as a community that reflects the harmony and justice of his design for human flourishing. We who belong to the LORD have always had a priestly function. We represent to the world the one true God who has revealed himself in mighty acts of salvation recorded in his Scripture. We speak and show the truth of the triune God. We also represent humanity to God. We intercede for the lost, taking their side as we ask God to send his Spirit into their hearts. We strive against the darkness as we pray for peace, goodwill, right ordering and true justice to prevail.

Above all, we are worship leaders. We put into words the praise of the one who sits on the throne and the Lamb who has redeemed us by his blood.

In today’s passage we see a vast multitude called out from every ethnicity standing before the Lamb in worship. Though their native languages are many, they speak in one worship voice: “Salvation belongs to our God!”

All these people of various tribes share striking similarities. They are each dressed in dazzling robes and holding palm branches that represent both victory and the peace that follows. These are the witnesses to the truth of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished, both in them and in the world. The same Greek word underlies not only “witnesses” but also “martyrs.” This multitude includes the martyrs who lost their lives under persecution. They have discovered that though we die, yet shall we live.

Curiously, their dazzling robes have been made white by the blood of the Lamb! Nothing stains quite so stubbornly as blood. But the Lamb’s blood is so strong in its atoning power, it washes away all that is dull, soiled, muted or compromised in us. Covered in the blood of the Lamb, we shine in a glory that is not our own yet makes us most truly who we were made to be.

Stitching It In

It’s crucial to note the communal nature of this scene. We are often very individualistic in our faith. We can mistakenly think that all that matters is my personal, private response to Christ. But a true reply of faith to Jesus means being united to him. United to the body that is his person, but also, and just as truly, united to his body that is his bride, the church. Yes, we were redeemed for communion with the triune God. But we were redeemed just as surely for communion with the worshipping community of saints. We are not monads, a word that means solitary, self-contained, self-fulfilling creatures. That isolation leads to idolatry of my wishes and way. And so leads to the loneliness of hell! Rather, we are members of a body, a body with myriad members of all types and functions yet united by the praise of the Lamb.

When we reach up and out from ourselves to worship the Lamb who alone is worthy, the heavenly beings make a reply! Our hesitant songs and feeble croaks evoke a symphony of angelic music. Seeing and hearing us praise as redeemed creatures, the immortal spiritual beings fall before the wisdom of God who could work such a mighty redemption. They take up the strands of our worship and magnify them in celestial worship.

Moreover, we discover that there is no more unifying act than raising hearts and voices in praise. Do you ever feel that in worship as you glance around at the people whose stories you know, as you marvel at the work of love done in their lives? Sometimes when I am singing to the Lamb, I have held in my mind’s eye people, even loved ones, who have hurt me. I have imagined those who have wounded me singing praise next to me, all of us discovering the power of the Lamb’s blood to atone. In Christ, we enter communion with God and one another.

Praying Along the Pattern

Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne

And to the Lamb!

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and

Thanksgiving and honor and power and

Might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.

Yes, Lord Jesus!

You are the Lamb who was slain yet lives.

You are the Lamb in the midst of the throne.

You are both the Lamb and our Shepherd.

You guide us to springs of living water,

You promise to wipe away every tear from our eyes.

So unite us in imagination and worship

With the all witnesses who have gone before us,

With the angelic beings even now praising you,

With the communion of the saints

Who are all around us and whom we will meet this day.

May this heavenly vision bring

Reconciliation with all from whom we are estranged,

And may it unite us ever more to your church,

And propel us into the world as witnesses to your glory.

Posted in: Lent

Day 13 Who Is Worthy?

Posted on: March 21, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Revelation 5:1-14

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

Picking Up the Thread

The book of Revelation recounts a vision John was given. He saw through the veil into the heavenly throne room of God. Christ Jesus himself commissioned John: “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after that” (Revelation 1:19). John would behold the present reality of worship around the throne. He would also see unfolding what was to come, the foreseeing of God’s redemptive plan for the earth. Early on in his vision, John sees a scroll sealed up with unbreakable seals in the hand of the Creator on the throne. He is dismayed because no one is found worthy to break those seals and discover what is within. His sorrow only dissipates when there appears the Lamb who was slain and who alone can open it.

Christopher Powers. Revelation 5:5. October 2019, https://www.fullofeyes.com/revelation-55/

The artist Christopher Powers rendered this image of the Lamb with the scroll. In his blog, Powers comments on the meaning of this event: “The context of “weep no more” in Rev.5:5 is that the “scroll” seems unable to be opened. . . . And what does that mean? Well, I think—and there are many interpretations of it—I think the scroll represents God’s purposes in history. In that sense, we might say that it represents all the hopes, all the longings, all the anticipations of God’s people. It is God’s kingdom coming and His will being done in heaven and earth. Therefore, the inability for this scroll to be opened is the worst thing imaginable. If it were not opened, it would be worse than hell itself, it would be the failure of God . . . the thwarting of His purposes . . . beauty devoured in chaos, hope swallowed up in despair, light extinguished in darkness . . . that is what the unopened scroll would mean.”

The scroll represents God’s future purposes for creation. His plans. The possibilities of what lies ahead for the flourishing of humanity on the earth.

What does it mean that no one in creation was found worthy to open the way to God’s glorious future? It means that creation itself cannot sustain its own existence. Beings of finite capacity cannot manage or shape a universe so vast and complex as ours. Created beings, no matter how mighty, cannot forge themselves a future of everlasting life.

Simply put, we cannot even keep ourselves alive. We cannot reconcile warring humanity, nor fill in each empty heart. We cannot stem our high propensity to foul everything up, nor can we lift the weight of guilt from our attempts to have life on our own terms. We cannot make everything turn out all right. That discovery is an occasion for sorrow. This job can’t be done. This knot can never be untied. Left to itself, the universe will spin out to its ending. It will expand to nothingness. The stars will burn out. All life will cease. And on our own, there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it. As it is, existence is a tragedy that cannot overcome its own entropy. Grasping this, no wonder John wept loudly.

But then. Then comes the news. One of the heavenly elders tells John, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . has conquered.” Expecting to see a mighty lion, John, however, sees instead a lamb. Strangely, the lamb stands but appears as if it had been slain. It is wounded mortally yet standing triumphantly. The contradictory imagery attempts to portray the paradox. The Lamb of God is simultaneously victor and victim, conquering king of the universal jungle of chaos and pierced lamb of a complete sacrificial offering.

Stitching It In

Powers goes on to suggest what this heavenly scene might mean for our daily lives in a broken world:

When the elder says to John, “weep no more,” he means that John should not weep over the prospect of the scroll being forever sealed . . . and yet . . . if the scroll is not forever sealed, if it in fact will be opened—if God’s good purposes will be achieved, if the “happy ending” will be invincibly secured—then are not the elder’s words to John also words to us in all of our sorrows? If the Lion has conquered, if the Lamb has overcome, is not all weeping overshadowed in the light of coming and sure joy? Is not all weeping, then, set in its rightful place, enduring for the “night,” while joy is sure to come with the blood-bought morning? (Christopher Powers, “Revelation 5:5,” Full of Eyes.)

Praying Along the Pattern

Today, let us pray with the angelic beings and indeed all creation as depicted in John’s vision. Upon seeing the Lamb who alone is worthy to open the scrolls of creation’s future, they cried out in worship. Revelation 5:11-14 records it this way:

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Posted in: Lent

Day 12 Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus the Lamb

Posted on: March 20, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

John 1:29

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 Corinthians 5:7b-8

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Peter 1:13-15, 18-19, 22-23

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct . . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. . . . Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.

Picking Up the Thread

The first Christians quickly connected the Passover Lamb and the Suffering Servant with Jesus. We see this clearly in today’s passages. John the Baptist exclaimed over his cousin at the Jordan River, “Look, there is the Lamb of God. There’s the one who takes away the sins of the world.” In encouraging love and purity among the Corinthians, Paul uses a term about Jesus as if it were already commonly understood: “For Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” The lamb whose blood turns away the angel of death is Jesus. Now God passes over our sins by the atoning blood of Jesus marked on our hearts through the Spirit in faith.

Peter makes the connection between the blood of Jesus the Lamb and the motivation and means of our changed lives. He urges his readers to consider ever more deeply the price Christ paid so that we do not take our forgiveness lightly. Something has happened that changes everything. It propels us into a renewed future.

Peter reminds us that once we did not know better than to follow our passions. We were clueless about the way of life that flows from sacrificial love. We did not know who God truly is, and so we were ignorant of how to live as created image bearers for the glory of God. He speaks of “the passions of your former ignorance.” We used to act on our first impulse on base desire, only making a bigger mess of our lives. Indeed, our whole way of life before Christ was “futile.” We were in bondage to lies about what makes for fulfillment and meaning. We couldn’t help ourselves. Appetites and pride locked us into an endless cycle. Consumption then regret. Offended then angry. Spending sprees then debt collectors. Revenge then wounds that remain. Greed then emptiness. Taking not giving and afterwards feeling like we had even less. Habits, addictions and compulsions in the name of our freedom to do what we want that left us more enslaved than ever.

But Christ ransomed us from bondage. A person taken as a slave might be redeemed, that is bought back, by a friend or relative who would pay the price of freedom. It took more than money to set us free. It took the precious blood of the unblemished lamb. A Passover lamb that was the eternal Son of God in human flesh. The only man who ever lived in full faithfulness, perfect obedience and consistent love. His holiness was condemned by human malice, but that was the plan. To take sin upon himself. To ransom us from ourselves. To buy us out of bondage to our own corrupt hearts. The price was Jesus’ precious flesh and blood. He who so loved his Father had to experience the horrifying hell of God-forsakenness. Only by that searing sacrifice can we be regathered into the Father’s everlasting arms.

Stitching It In

Peter reveals that Jesus as the Lamb of God is not just a lovely theological concept. The Lamb who sheds blood has redeemed us for a purpose. Our freedom from sin’s consequence and power brings about a life of renewed relationship. Now we can live out our creational calling to walk in the image of our just, loving, sacrificing God. Jesus did not pay such a ransom so that we could keep trying to live the life of our own selfish dreams. No, he has something much better for us.

Now in gratitude for our freedom, we can love others the way Jesus loved us. Pope John Paul II loved this insight, “Man cannot fully find himself except in a sincere gift of self.” (3 Pope John Paul II, Gaudium et Spes, 24.) We find the meaning of our lives only by giving ourselves away in service to our Redeemer. This service takes the form of loving one another. We expend sweat, tears, and sometimes even blood to care for those God gives us to love.

To put it more pointedly, did Christ the Lamb of God ransom me from slavery so I could stay glued comfortably to the couch for one more episode? Did people give their lives to preserve the Bible so I could know more football statistics than Scriptures? Or rather, did Jesus pay such a price to free me so that I could join him in gathering lost lambs back to the fold? Did he not reveal the futile ways of life offered by a consumer culture precisely so I could expend more time, money, effort, attention, humor and kindness to share his love?

Praying Along the Pattern

Lord Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

Who takes away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on me.

Christ our Passover, sacrificed for us,

I will keep the feast of remembering

Your mighty acts of redemption.

All you did for the world of lost people,

All you did for me.

Your dying frees me from sin,

Your rising frees me from death,

Your return frees me from fear.

Your rule frees me from falling back

Into the chaos of self.

You are the new and living way,

You are the better path forward.

Jesus the Lamb of God,

Christ our Passover,

I will keep the feast of love

To which you call me.

Sincerity, initiative, true speech,

Earnestness, obedience, purity,

Affection and welcome,

These I offer you today,

With the heartfelt request that you

Continue to free me, cleanse me,

Restore me and send me.

Posted in: Lent

Day 11 The Suffering Servant

Posted on: March 19, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Isaiah 53:3-12

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Picking Up the Thread

Fast forward from the exodus from Egypt to the days when a disobedient Israel went into exile in Babylon. Through his prophets, the LORD convicted his people of idolatry and injustice and called them to repentance. Still, they continued to rebel, and the consequences were dire. However, although God banished them to Babylon for seventy years, he threaded hope through Isaiah’s words. A redeeming servant of the LORD would appear. The one true and faithful Israelite. The one who could live, suffer and die on behalf of the many. While elsewhere God had promised a mighty Messiah who would conquer all enemies, in the servant songs of Isaiah he promised a suffering Savior as well.

Once again, a passage from the Hebrew Bible would have remained baffling to the people until Christ came. With the arrival of the Son of God in Jesus, we see that Isaiah 53 makes a clear connection between the unique servant of the LORD and the Lamb of God who takes away sins. This beautiful poetry forms the bridge from the lamb in the stories of Abel, Abraham and Exodus to Jesus the Lamb. The offerings of lambs in sacrifice were always pointing towards a greater reality. Actual lamb’s blood could never fully and finally atone for human sins. The animal offerings foreshadowed a reconciliation with God we desperately needed. But a true restoration to right relationship required a redeemer who could actually represent us as one of us.

Yet the sacrifices were by no means a waste. The centuries of offering animals accustomed God’s people to understanding that one can take away the sins of another. The tracks were laid down for us to apprehend how the servant of the Lord could substitute for us. This one faithful man bore our sins in himself so that he could “make many to be accounted righteous” (Isaiah 53:11).

It is extremely difficult to work out just how the suffering of the Servant could heal us and bring us peace (Isaiah 53:5). But the centuries of the sacrificial system made it possible for the people to realize intuitively that “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” and “with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:6, 5). But only when Jesus came could the glorious truth crash in upon human understanding. Jesus is the vicarious man. The faithfulness he has lived, the atoning death he has died, the very life-giving power of his resurrection can be ours! We become joined to Jesus by the Holy Spirit as we put our trust in him through faith.

Stitching It In

Isaiah 53 draws us in magnetically. Life in this world is full of seasons of loneliness and sadness. Much we love falls away. Beauty gets marred. Evil steals joy. But hope awakes when we read about “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (verse 3). This one does not suffer only for himself. Rather, “surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (verse 4). Jesus takes the weight of the world upon himself. He experiences human suffering in a way that makes him our companion. Even more, he helps us bear the load, to make sense of the pain and have hope in the loss. Though he was the eternal Son of God who could not die, he took up a humanity that could indeed be pierced, crushed and killed. We are sheep that go astray, turning destructively to our own paths (verse 6). But Jesus is the Lamb innocent of all sin who gives himself wholly up even to death, as a sheep led to slaughter (verse 7). In the mysterious exchange of God’s love, he offers up himself to take our sin. Then he gives us his righteousness. Jesus undergoes our suffering in such a way that no sorrows of ours are ever again borne alone. And all our suffering gets folded into his redemptive plan.

Today, come to him with your sins and seek confidently the forgiveness for which he gave his life’s blood. Offer to him your sorrow and see how Jesus takes it just like he did a crown of thorns. Show him your wounds and see him press his nail-scarred hands into yours bringing the warmth of healing love. Go to the Lamb this very hour!

Praying Along the Pattern

What wondrous love is this?

The mighty redeemer arrives as a gentle lamb.

The conquering king lays down his arms.

He takes our rejection deep into himself

Until it kills him.

In this is my life.

He is jeered and slapped,

Scorned and condemned,

Nailed and pierced,

Buried and sealed away.

He becomes the most despicable.

In this is my life.

Faces turn away from the shame.

All our venom and rage heap upon him.

Our twisted justice, skewed desires,

Fierce projections of damning blame

He drinks down the last sponge of sour wine

In this is my life.

Surely. Weirdly. Wonderfully.

You Lord Jesus have borne my griefs

Carried my sorrows,

Atoned for my sins

And set me at peace with your Father.

In this is my life.

Posted in: Lent

Day 10 The Passover Lamb

Posted on: March 18, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Francisco de Zurbarán. Agnus Dei.1640, Prado Museum.

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Exodus 12:1-13

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. . . . Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old . . . and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. . . . In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

Picking Up the Thread

Centuries after Abraham, the LORD’s people were enslaved in Egypt. God raised up Moses to demand that Pharaoh set his people free. The ruler of Egypt continually refused even after God sent the plagues upon the land. Finally, the time had come for the tenth plague which would break even the will of Pharaoh. The angel of death would pass through Egypt slaying every firstborn animal and human. But the LORD provided a way to protect his own people. Each household was to sacrifice a lamb and then do three things: 1) place blood from the lamb over the doorposts of their homes so the lethal angel would see the mark and “pass over” the firstborn within, 2) feast on the lamb eating all of it as a sign of participating in the sacrifice, and 3) dress ready to depart as soon as Pharaoh released them.

Once more, we are reminded of the gravity of the lives we have been given. We were made to be in relationship with our Creator. This is a joyful and fulfilling purpose. It is also serious business. Consequences follow rebelling against the love by which and for which we were made. Human willful sin invited death into the world. Open defiance of God’s will continues to open a channel of deathliness. Often we may not see the connection clearly, but the event of the first Passover reveals the stakes plainly to us.

Death is due to defiance of the LORD’s good will for humanity. Through the course of our lives, God patiently endures with us. But when the time for judgment is at hand, an account must be given. The lamb at Passover symbolized the offering of a pure, undefiled and precious substitute for the firstborn. The life is in the blood, and the blood of the lamb was placed over the entrance to the house to act as a covering for the entire household. Moreover, everyone within the house willingly and fully participated in the offering by partaking of the lamb. There was communion with the sacrifice and with one another. They also prepared to be responsive. The grace of the angel of death passing over their houses was but the prelude to the obedience of the people in departing swiftly from Egypt, leaving behind the old life and heading for the Promised Land.

Stitching It In

Once again, we see the offering of a lamb at a crucial moment in the history of God’s people. We can readily see the spiritual significance of this event for us today. Christians, above all people, remain acutely aware that death is a reality. The only variable is time. Hebrews 9:27 starkly says, “[I]t is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment.” The angel of death interrupted normal Egyptian life in a unique, cataclysmic act of judgment against the enslavers of God’s people. Yet in a depressingly ordinary way, the angel of death visits everyone who lives in the world until the final day when Christ returns.

We are not our own. We will all give an account to the God who made us. The question becomes, “Do I plan to appear before the LORD on my own merits? Will I direct God to look at the good days I had doing kindness and showing mercy?” Sometimes we may imagine our résumés will be sufficient. But when the all-seeing God looks into our hearts, I dare not depend on my own purity. Even my best works are laced with self-interest. Greed, lust, pride and self-protection are woven through all I have done, said or thought.

I can only pass safely through death to the presence of God through the blood of the Lamb of God shed for me. This means that by a definite act of faith, I accept that blood over the house of my life, conceding that Jesus alone can save me. And I enact the visible signs of my union with him by partaking of the Supper he provides joined in reconciling love to the community of Christ. There is no salvation without such acknowledgment that I am insufficient on my own. And that I agree to participate in the community, worship and mission to which he has entrusted me. As I make that decision, once and for all and continuously, I discover the wonder of being included in the lifeblood of the Lamb of God.

Praying Along the Pattern

Jesus, you are the new and living way.

Your blood alone brings eternal life.

For I know the truth of your Word

That the wages of sin is death.

I would rather it not be so.

I wish you could just overlook everything,

Just be nice and make it all right.

But my bent mind, my wandering heart,

My toxic estrangement from you and others

Requires a more costly solution.

I need the blood of the Lamb over me.

I require partaking of you in faith,

I must come back into community

From the isolation of myself

In my stubborn independence.

I dare not appear before your throne

Dressed in the rags of my own righteousness,

Made up with the cosmetics of my pride.

I come with the blood of your cross

Signed upon my forehead.

Its sticky, staining, vivid red

Alone washes me clean.

I know that the angel of death

Still comes to us all,

But pass over my sins,

See, your blood is on the door

Of my life-house.

I partake of you with the entire

Household of faith,

No longer aloof, but

Singing and serving the Lamb.

Posted in: Lent

Day 9 The Lord Will Provide the Lamb

Posted on: March 17, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Genesis 22:1-14

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

Picking Up the Thread

To me, this is the most disturbing story in the Bible. Just as he promised, the LORD gives a son to childless Sarah and Abraham. Then God commands Abraham to ignore the primal instinct we have to protect our children. Instead, Abraham is to make a burnt offering of his beloved only son. How this must have baffled God’s people through the centuries! What kind of God demands such a horrific sacrifice? It is only with the coming of Jesus that the story at last comes into focus. Let’s look at three of the many connections to Christ.

1. Abraham hears God call his name, and Abraham’s literal reply is, “Behold!” which means “Look, here I am, ready to do your will.” This is the paradigm for responding to God. Immediate and radical availability. Hebrews puts this same word on Jesus’ lips: “Behold, I have come to do your will O God” (Hebrews 10:7). The text goes on to tell us that this means “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

2. Isaac also foreshadows Jesus in that he obeys his father and undertakes the journey up the mountains. He carries on his back the wood that will become the burning altar of sacrifice. Similarly, Jesus carried up the hill of Golgotha his own wooden cross, the altar of sacrifice on which he offered himself for us.

3. Along the way, Isaac astutely asks where the lamb for the sacrifice is. We hear Abraham’s faith as he replies, “God will provide for himself the lamb.” Hebrews 11:19 explains that Abraham “considered that God was able even to raise the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, [Abraham] did receive [Isaac] back.” Abraham advanced toward the ghastly act trusting that God would keep his promises even if it meant doing the impossible to raise Isaac. Every listener breathes a huge sigh of relief when at the last second Abraham sees a ram caught in the thicket.

Jesus himself would reflect on this event in John 8:56 when he says, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” Jesus understood that he was the true Isaac. The eternal Father himself would offer his only Son to redeem the world.

Stitching It In

This story is hard. Indeed, Biblical faith is hard. We have often made Christianity softer than it is, expecting Jesus to cushion any sacrifice we might have to offer. We think he who took away our sins must also smooth the way of discipleship. But Scripture speaks of a tougher realism. We recall verses from Romans 8:35-36 that we often skip:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

Here Paul quotes from Psalm 44 to make sense of Christian suffering and to affirm that God calls us to expend our lives in his service. That may well mean we experience overt persecution or the more subtle tribulations of life in a dangerous and fallen world. Our model, of course, is Jesus who lived as a sacrificial lamb. He calls us also to pick up our cross and follow him (Mark 8:34). It is only in accepting this charge that we can truly know the comfort of the verses that follow: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Praying Along the Pattern

You are my gracious Father,

Yet ever you have called your people to hard things.

You called your beloved Son Jesus

To be the forerunner and pioneer of our faith,

Forging through the horrible cross

In faith of the joy that lay far ahead.

I wish that had been the end of it.

But I know your Word tells me otherwise.

You call and I am roused to reply

With Abraham and Jesus,

“Behold, here I am!”

Even when the path is marked with pain,

Even when I cannot see,

Can only barely imagine,

The glory on the other side.

For your sake, I pass through

The deathliness of life,

Praying sometimes with clenched teeth

“The LORD will provide,”

For you do and you have,

And there is no other way.

I offer this day what has come to me that is hard,

As a sacrifice of praise to the Lamb

Who offered himself on my behalf.

Sacrifices of Abel, Melchisedec and Abraham. Mosaic from the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, 6th century. Wikimedia Commons.

In this 6th century mosaic, we see an artistic link between three stories about offering. On the left, Abel offers his lamb as the acceptable sacrifice. On the right, Abraham offers Isaac in obedience. In the middle, the mysterious Melchizedek, a prefiguration of Christ, offers bread and wine.

Posted in: Lent

Day 8 The Offering of Abel

Posted on: March 16, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

WEEK TWO
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!

Lamb of God. 18th century, Florence, Italy. Alamy.

The joy of being created in the image of God has been corrupted by the reality of human rebellion against our Creator. Our disobedience invited death into the world. Everything since has been disordered. We are now, by nature, separated from God and one another. We require reconciliation. We need to be made one with God again.

The image of the lamb has long been a sign of such reconciliation. We find mention of a lamb from early in Genesis to the end of Revelation. This is an image that grows in meaning as the Bible unfolds. We associate important Biblical concepts with the lamb. Purity. Offering. Sacrifice. Blood. Substitution. Atonement.

In all these cases, the lamb has a vicarious function in Scripture. Here “vicarious” means something done on behalf of another. In Bible terms, a lamb without blemish could stand in for me the impure one. Offering that animal in sacrifice, I offer my life vicariously through the blood of the blameless lamb. In turn, I claim its innocence for me. I count on its life as a payment for my sin. I give up this lamb to God as a symbol of giving my heart and life to the LORD. In all these ways, the lamb stands in for me. I participate in a sacrifice for sin, a gift of thanks and a dedication of myself vicariously through offering the lamb.

Of course, we know that these sacrificed animals were but a foreshadowing of the true Lamb. They only point to the reality beyond comprehension. In Jesus, the Son of God gives himself to be a vicarious atonement. He lives out an eternal faithfulness as a man, a faithfulness in which all men and women, boys and girls can participate. And, as it gloriously turns out, the Lamb who was slain is the Lamb who reigns and will joyfully be worshipped into eternity.

The beautiful colors in this stained-glass window convey the joy and majesty of the Lamb who is our king. We feel both the sweet attraction of this kindly Lord, and the deep eternal mystery that the one who reigns is the one who was slain.

THE OFFERING OF ABEL

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Genesis 4:1-10

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.

Hebrews 11:4; 12:22, 24

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. . . . But you have come . . . to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Picking Up the Thread

At first, this story baffles us. There was yet no law prescribing sacrifices. So why did both young men make an offering to the LORD? Does God really need stuff from us? Underlying this whole account is the reality that we were made for communion with God. That profound relationship finds expression through worship. And worship involves offering. We give ourselves back to the God who “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). Songs, prayers of praise, gifts and service all express the offering of our whole heart, mind and strength to our God.

This story reveals how deep within us is a yearning to make a return to the LORD. A child may offer a parent a crayon drawing of the family. In terms of mature art, it may not be very much. But the child longs for it to be accepted. A loving parent rejoices in the offering. That drawing may stay on the refrigerator for years! Similarly, we long for God to accept, even treasure, what we can bring forth from the life he gave us. Great satisfaction fills us from the inside out when we make such an offering. And we ache for this symbol of our very lives to be accepted. Through Scripture, we discover that our sincere act of worship pleases God as a sign of love.

Both young men made an offering. But why did God reject Cain’s gift of grain? After all, farming is what he did! We note in the text a subtle but important difference. Cain made “an offering.” Abel sacrificed the firstborn of the flock. There is a sense that Cain offered just part of what he had while Abel offered the best, the firstborn that represented his whole flock. His offering cost more; his worship ran deeper; his heart expressed a more whole-hearted faith.

This story establishes the importance of blood offerings. We learn in Leviticus 17:11 that “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Through such a substitute, animal sacrifices would come to represent the offering of a person’s very life to the LORD.

Moreover, Cain’s envy led him to murder his brother. Here was the first act of lethal violence between humans. A primal wound in our relationships opened. The LORD confronted Cain with the words, “His blood cries up to me from the ground.” The very earth called out for justice for the taking of a life.

Our passage from Hebrews 12 links Abel’s sacrifice and his unjust death to the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus’ blood “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” The murder of innocent Abel points to the abject alienation in even the best of human relationships. Something is wrong, very wrong, in a world where brother sheds the blood of brother. The wound in humanity remains open. We see it oozing all around us. But paradoxically the murder of innocent Jesus creates the grounds for healing. Jesus’ intentional offering of himself to his Father in an obedience unto death atones for sin and reconciles us to God and each other.

Stitching It In

Paul gets right to the heart of our need to make an offering: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Romans 12:1). We no longer need to make an animal sacrifice. As we shall see later this week, Jesus the vicarious Lamb of God makes a sufficient and once-for-all sacrifice for sin. But as humans made to worship the triune God, we still need to make an offering. We are only fulfilled when we offer up our lives to Jesus. We don’t have to shed blood. Jesus did that for us. But we must release control of our lives to Christ. We present ourselves to him: “Lord, I am yours!” In this way, we become a living sacrifice giving our lives to God through the obedience shown in every moment of faithful living.

What might this look like today? Perhaps you could:

View the first interruption of your plans as an opportunity God has ordained for you to show love, compassion and service.

Ask God to move you to initiate one text, email, card or call to someone who needs encouragement.

Give up for this day a habit or vice to which you are prone.

Make an over-and-above financial gift to God as a token of love.

Make a list of ten things you love about Jesus, then read those to him.

Praying Along the Pattern

Oh my God, oh my God, I am yours.

Now I make a return of praise and thanks.

All that I have comes from you.

Only your own of your own do I offer to you.

Yet you have given me discretion over so much.

I have thoughts that can be directed.

I have a voice that can form words and songs.

I have enough agency to make choices.

I can move out of myself towards others.

And I can wait in silence and stillness

Until your Spirit stirs me

With ways to offer all of these to you.

Oh my God, oh my God, I am yours.

Receive this offering of my life,

Through all these gifts returned to you,

Expressed today as you direct,

That you might know I mean it

When I say “I love you.”

Posted in: Lent

Day 7 God Will Recreate Everything

Posted on: March 15, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Isaiah 65:17-25

“For behold, I create new heavens

and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind.

But be glad and rejoice forever

in that which I create;

for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,

and her people to be a gladness.

I will rejoice in Jerusalem

and be glad in my people;

no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping

and the cry of distress.

No more shall there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not fill out his days. . . .

They shall build houses and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

They shall not build and another inhabit;

they shall not plant and another eat;

for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,

and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labor in vain

or bear children for calamity,

for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD,

and their descendants with them.

Before they call I will answer;

while they are yet speaking I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;

the lion shall eat straw like the ox,

and dust shall be the serpent’s food.

They shall not hurt or destroy

in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

Revelation 21:1-2, 5a

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. . . . And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Picking Up the Thread

In the 6th century BC, God’s people prepared to return from seventy years of exile in Babylon. They longed to rebuild Jerusalem and especially to restore the temple of the LORD. Being home in their own land and worshipping in freedom seemed a grand enough dream. But then the LORD spoke a vision through Isaiah that was even more wonderful. He promised to create once more: to create a world recognizable as earth, but yet remade at the very heart. New because the chilly stripe of sadness that runs through everything will be replaced with joy. Gone will be the sorrow over an infant’s dying. No more frustration over a life’s work left incomplete. Injustice and strife, tragic accidents and sudden disasters will vanish. People will live and work in harmony. Peace will reign to such an extent that a child can play safely near a serpent. A lamb can nuzzle up to a lion. Everything will work as we have ever dreamed. No more hurting or destroying.

Isaiah’s prophecy looked well beyond the time when he wrote it. As he did in so many ways, Isaiah foresaw the coming of Jesus. Something new would interrupt the world. God would enter his creation. The new creation would begin in the womb of Mary. As we noted yesterday, Jesus was humanity made right again. His faithfulness through life and death reconstructed the very life of man. His return from death in a resurrection body became the pledge of all creation being made new. That Jesus returned to heaven still joined to our humanity now restored means that he is the guarantee of the new creation reworking the old.

The book of Revelation picks up this theme of re-creation. In John’s vision, the new heavens and earth descend into our present world. In other words, there is continuity. It’s the earth we know. But made right. Healed. So vivid with rightness and harmony and peacefulness that we might hardly recognize it. Revelation depicts “the throne of God and of the lamb” in the center of a new Jerusalem. Echoing Eden, a river of the water of life will flow from God’s throne right down the middle of the city. The great tree of life will grow on either side of this river. Its fruit will no longer be forbidden. But all will eat of it, and the once-warring nations will find their healing. We will be reconciled to God, to one another and to all of nature. The Garden will become even more than it had been (see Revelation 22:1-5).

Stitching It In

Andrew Peterson wrote a worship song that has deeply moved people across the world. “Is He Worthy?” asks the questions of our yearning for God to recreate the world. The song answers our questions with a tearfully joyous affirmation of Jesus as the Lamb of God up to this task:

Do you feel the world is broken? (We do)

Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do)

But do you know that all the dark won’t Stop the light from getting through? (We do)

Do you wish that you could see it all made new? (We do)

It takes some attentive time to rediscover that the world we live in isn’t supposed to be like this. The fact that we know that means we have, deep inside us, a sense of what a rightly ordered world filled with recreated lives could be. Take a few moments to consider what parts of the world you most long to see restored. Imagine what such a new creation would be like.

Praying Along the Pattern

Extravagant God and Father,

Your promises of new creation

Release a thrill of anticipation.

I’d love to see the trees of Eden restored,

And climb their branches without fear.

I’d love to put my cheek against a tiger’s,

And scratch his ears until he purrs.

I’d love to swim underwater for hours,

Then catch a current and glide on air.

I’d love to meet someone new

Without questioning motives and intent.

I’d love to delight in someone without envy,

To behold beauty without wanting to possess it,

To dream without lurid and putrid images.

To speak without overtones and undertones.

I’d love to work with effort but not frustration,

To make what I love because you love it.

I’d love to see everyone with enough,

Eager to create and then to overflow in giving.

I’d love to quest deeper and deeper into your Being

And then join the chorus of ever-rising praise.

Even so, come Lord Jesus and make all things new!

Atlas Lifting the World. Contemporary. Alamy.

The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. . . .

In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity . . . down to the very roots and sea-bed of the Nature He has created. But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him.

One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders.

C. S. Lewis, Miracles (New York: Macmillan, 1947), 112, 115.

Posted in: Lent

Day 5 God Created Through Jesus

Posted on: March 13, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

John 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Colossians 1:15-20

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Hebrews 1:1-3a

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

Picking Up the Thread

God is love. As far as we know, no one in the history of the world ever wrote that before the apostle John penned 1 John 4:8. So simple, yet so endlessly profound. God is love. Love means relationship. God exists in an eternal relationship of love. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have loved each other from all eternity. Out of that love, the one God who is three persons created new life. Life meant to be lived in relationship. In love. We humans loving God and one another. Because God first loved us.

How did we come to know this? Because the Son of God came to us as the man Jesus. The first disciples constantly reflected on just who they had followed for three years. They thought about a man who could walk across the sea and still the waves with a word. They knew the man born blind who was made to see by the touch of Jesus. They felt the peace emanating from one tortured by and delivered from demons cast out by the command

of Jesus.

This Jesus ever talked of God as his Father, the two being so close that Jesus could say, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), he told a grieving Martha. But more, this man from Nazareth, who had been a baby in Mary’s arms, said, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:26). They saw Jesus die and then saw him alive again so that Thomas, touching the wounds of the once-dead Jesus, would declare the astounding truth, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). The man Jesus is the eternal Son of God who took up a real humanity.

Following Jesus’ death and resurrection, it did not take long for his followers to think through all this meant. Within twenty years of Jesus’ time on earth, Paul could write, “[Y]et for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6). The one LORD God of Israel is Father and Son. Creation comes from the Father through the Son. God spoke creation into being, but God’s Word is a person. In time, Jesus’ disciples put it together further: the one God is three! God the Father created through his Son in the Spirit, that same Spirit who hovered over the primeval waters.

These complex insights underlie the glorious simplicity: God is love. As John’s epistle continues, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). The triune Creator showed himself in Jesus. The man who walked among us, who gave his life on a cross, is no less than the Son of God through all things were made. And he is profoundly for us. For God is love.

Stitching It In

The God to whom I pray is none other than the Jesus who cooked breakfast on a charcoal fire for his disciples (John 21:9). He walked the dusty roads of Israel, learned a carpenter’s trade, and noticed the farming and shepherding of his people. He loved children, received the touch of a sinful woman, and noticed and felt deeply the suffering of others. The notorious and compromised were drawn to him. This man is the same Son of God through whom all things were made!

And Jesus is the exact imprint of his Father. He is God’s face revealed to us. He shows us that God is this way, like him, and not another way. This is the best possible news. The Creator God is Jesus who came to us, cared for us and gave his life for us. The Maker to whom I pray is the man I meet in the gospels! He calls me by name. I know that voice and that I belong to him.

Praying Along the Pattern

Jesus. Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus Christ.

You are a man,

Yet I am moved to worship you as God.

If you were but a man,

My worship would be idolatry and

Like all idols, you would disappoint me.

No man could fulfill such adoration

As I am moved to give you.

Yet you do not disappoint!

I can praise you with my whole heart,

With every skill or strength, and

Find that it is not too much, only never enough.

For you, Lord Jesus, are a man I could see and touch,

Yet you are the eternal Son of God.

You are not only alive, you are the source of life.

Through you all things came to be,

And you uphold the cosmos by your power.

You, the man whose arms were stretched on the cross

Are the God whose divine hands cup the oceans, spin the planets

Contain the galaxies in the eons of their journeys.

This God, you, Jesus, invite my prayers,

And send reply through your Spirit that stirs in my heart.

I praise you, the man Jesus,

And find that I am drawn into communion

With the triune Creator God.

All my satisfaction is with you

And I will never reach the end of you.

So draw me up to you, draw me into you,

Even as you send me out to the world.

Antonio Berti. St. Paul the Weaver. 20th century, Vatican Museums, Galleria d’Arte Religiosa Moderna.

A tentmaker by trade, Paul knew how to weave threads into a strong, coherent whole. After his conversion to Christ, Paul discovered that Jesus is the golden thread winding rhrough all the Hebrew Scriptures. In his letters, Paul wove this new revelation that Jesus is Lord and Savior into the Old Testament story. So he revealed the glory of what the triune God intended all along. This 20th century relief by Antonio Berti highlights Paul's skill as a weaver, not only of tents, but of glorious theological truth.

Posted in: Lent

Day 4 God Calls Me by Name in Love

Posted on: March 12, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

Fear not, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

and from the west I will gather you.

I will say to the north, Give up,

and to the south, Do not withhold;

bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the end of the earth,

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

Picking Up the Thread

This passage begins and ends with the LORD’s mighty declaration that he himself made us and formed us. Within these bookends of our createdness, we discover God’s deep, specific personal love.

I still remember my first intense encounter with these words. I was twenty years old and preparing for a long summer trip abroad. There would be deeper waters and hotter fires to encounter in years to come, but what I experienced from Isaiah 43 that summer would be a foundation for trusting God in more intense times.

I would be going first to a country where I did not speak or understand much of the language. My English major skills would be of little use. Then I would be meeting a whole new set of people in an academic environment that could be daunting. I feared making embarrassing mistakes, being shown up as inadequate, or just being lonely. But Isaiah 43 undercut those fears. Let’s pick up a few threads:

I have called you by name, you are mine. God knows me, not as a number but by name. He knows me particularly and individually. I belong to him. I may go far away from my earthly country, but I am never homeless. I never stop belonging to the God who made me and knows me.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. I worried about getting from the plane to the train station. I agonized about keeping all my stuff together, buying a ticket and finding the right train. I feared being seen as a scared kid and rounded up by predators. Indeed, I did make travel mistakes and had embarrassing encounters. There were waters and flames that summer. But after reading Isaiah 43, I never felt abandoned.

You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you. The LORD spoke those words straight to my heart. He loves me. Me as me. Me in my uniqueness, quirkiness, fear and excitement. I matter to God. Knowing me completely because he is my Creator, he loves me truly.

I give . . . peoples in exchange for your life. I know this verse raises the question as to whether some people are more valuable than others in God’s sight. But that wasn’t what struck me back then. What I heard was that in a place where I would be unknown, God would not stop knowing me. Where I could be discarded as a foreigner, God would hold me up with his particular and personal care. He would not forget me when I was in a sea of people who would barely even notice me.

From the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name. Not only did God know my name, he conferred his name upon me. I am his son. I was made, not for myself, but for his glory. I bear the mark of the Creator upon me, and his name is the guarantee that I will be brought home to him. Home from that summer abroad, yes, but also home in Christ forever.

Stitching It In

Not just any old god made us. “God created” is a golden thread for us because of who the God of the Bible is. The LORD I AM is not a remote deity indifferent to our minuscule lives. He is not a tyrant god who made humans to be servile workers. Nor is he a capricious god prone to discard us if we do not amuse him. Ours is the God who knows each of us by name. We are precious to him. He honors us with his full attention. Humbling himself, the LORD risks our rejection by declaring his heart openly: “I love you.” Precisely because he created us in love, our God stays with us through all the twists and trials of this life.

Isaiah 43 is all the more remarkable when we recall that these words were written to a people facing exile. Despite decades of warning through the prophets, the LORD’s own people remained disobedient. They, like we, chased idols and neglected to love. The exile uprooted God’s people from their homes. They lost their freedom, their land, their temple and their way of life. And they deserved it.

Yet God chastened them to change them. The exile was of limited duration. And the LORD never left his people even when they had to leave their homeland. So these affectionate words of assurance came to a people who explicitly did not deserve such care.

God created us. In doing so, he bound himself to us in costly love. Even now, he looks on us with compassion as we encounter the various floods and fires of life. His pledge to be with us is not based on whether the circumstances we find ourselves in are our own stupid fault. What God makes he loves and never stops loving.

Choose a phrase from this passage and speak it directly into a circumstance you face.

Praying Along the Pattern

I spin and strive, bob and weave, never coming to rest

Lest I face the possibility that nothing I do can be enough

To warrant your acceptance, let alone your pleasure.

If I stop, I might fall into the hole of my nothingness.

But you catch me off guard with these words.

Just when I think I will get the exile I deserve,

You gather me to yourself.

You are not embarrassed that you made me.

You say that I am precious, treasured, sought.

When you made me you committed to me.

You honor me now with your full attention.

You say, “You are mine.”

My heart replies in wonder, “I am yours.”

You call me by my name, you call me your child.

I respond, “My Father and my God!”

I face the rising waters and feel your hand.

I make ready to walk into the flames

With your protective arms wrapped around me.

You say, “You are precious and I love you,”

And my heart quiets. The spinning stops.

“I love you too. My Maker and Savior.”

Posted in: Lent

Day 3 It Is Good That You Exist

Posted on: March 11, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Psalm 139:1, 13-18

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

Picking Up the Thread

No matter how many times I contemplate it, Psalm 139 always refreshes and amazes me. I hope it will have a similar effect on you as we move today from considering that God made the world to the staggering personal truth that God made you. Specifically, intentionally, joyfully, particularly, God created you. And he remains vitally involved with you. His thoughts toward you outnumber the grains of sand in the desert. And even though you forget about God, or slip into sleep, or even lose your right mind, God is still thinking about you. His thoughts wrap you in love and sustain you with life.

Today, I’d like us to consider this profound sentence: It is good that you exist. Say this aloud right now: “It is good that I exist.” Listen to those words. In the midst of the swiftly passing years, God speaks an eternal truth in this present moment: It is good that you exist. Amid all your stresses and your delights, your toil and your loves, your frailty and your strength, God declares his deep opinion of you: It is good that you exist.

German theologian Joseph Ratzinger, who spent the last two decades of his life as Pope Benedict XVI, reflected deeply on this truth. He is worth quoting at length:

Where does joy come from? . . . The crucial factor is . . . based on faith: I am wanted; I have a task in history; I am accepted, I am loved. . . . Man can only accept himself if he is accepted by another. He needs the other’s presence, saying to him, with more than words: it is good that you exist. . . .

This sense of being accepted comes in the first instance from other human beings. But all human acceptance is fragile. Ultimately we need a sense of being accepted unconditionally. Only if God accepts me, and I become convinced of this, do I know definitively: it is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being.

If ever man’s sense of being accepted and loved by God is lost, then there is no longer any answer to the question of whether to be a human being is good at all. Doubt concerning human existence becomes more and more insurmountable. Where doubt over God becomes prevalent, then doubt over humanity follows inevitably. We see today how widely this doubt is spreading. We see it in the joylessness, in the inner sadness that can be read on so many human faces today.

Only faith gives me the conviction: It is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being, even in hard times.

Pope Benedict XVI, Address on December 22, 2011, Pt. 5.

Why am I here? Adolescents ask that question as they try to find their life’s path. Adults ask that question after a profession proves deadening, or a marriage falls apart, or the investment sinks to nothing. The elderly ask that question in the tedium of lonely days made of just getting through to the next. Why do I carry on? What is the point of my life?

The extraordinary message of Psalm 139 is that God made me on purpose. He notices me. He accepts me. He attends to my emotions, thoughts and prayers. He cares. And he takes pleasure in my living, even if it should be confused or diminished or difficult. For much of my life, I will have, no matter my faults and flaws, the ability to reach up to God. To give thanks. To declare his praise. To share his love in word, work, or prayer. It is good that I exist. Because I belong to God and always will.

Praying Along the Pattern

You made me.

You do not forget about me.

You delight in my existence.

In every breath, even the labored ones.

In every heartbeat, even the rapid ones.

In every muscle movement, even the sore ones.

You, Lord and King of all,

Attend to me like a servant.

You await patiently my prayers,

Ever at the ready for the moment I turn to you.

Ever eager to hear from me what you already know,

Ever cherishing my halting praises.

You, gracious Father, see my whole life.

You see now in view of eternity

When my re-creation will be complete,

And all will be reconciled.

So you whisper anew, “It is good that you exist.”

And I feel with thanks your arms around me.

Posted in: Lent

Day 2 There Is No Other

Posted on: March 10, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Isaiah 45:5-7, 12, 18-19, 22

I am the LORD, and there is no other,

besides me there is no God;

I equip you, though you do not know me,

that people may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I form light and create darkness;

I make well-being and create calamity;

I am the LORD, who does all these things.

I made the earth

and created man on it;

it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all their host.

For thus says the LORD,

who created the heavens

(he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it;

he did not create it empty,

he formed it to be inhabited!):

“I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I did not speak in secret,

in a land of darkness;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

‘Seek me in vain.’

I the LORD speak the truth;

I declare what is right.

“Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.”

Picking Up the Thread

These words in Isaiah were first meant for Cyrus, the Persian king who would conquer Babylon and free the Jews from their exile. The LORD reminded Cyrus that neither the Persian gods nor their king ruled over the cosmos. Rather, the LORD I AM, the God of the Hebrews, reigns supreme. His very name means pure being, utmost power, unrestricted freedom and limitless potential. The great Cyrus would be but a servant in the eternal plan of the one true God.

Of course, as we overhear this prophecy, we know its words apply to us as well. The God of Scripture insists that we worship him alone (Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 6:5). His declaration “I am the LORD and there is no other” resounds through our passage today. The LORD alone is creator and ruler. Let’s follow the implications:

God gave the world a real existence. The Creator withdrew enough of his presence that we have room to relate to him freely. He does not shine his reality like a never-ending, inescapable, noonday sun. We can close him out from our awareness. We can consider alternative reasons for the world. We can invent other gods. The LORD really gives us our own lives in a real world. He allows us to have time and space for our own thoughts for he truly wants us to reach toward him by choice and not compulsion.

God created life to participate in the creation of more life. In our passage, we read that the LORD formed the earth to be inhabited. This occurs through reproduction. God could have made the world already filled with all the living organisms he wanted. But instead, he made life able to produce more life. Plants and animals with a real existence participate in making more life. God designed living creatures to share in his bringing forth. For us as his image bearers, this occurs through the myriad ways we cultivate life in the world. Though we are always only sub-creators, we know the joy of sharing in God’s creative work.

Creation remains dependent upon the Creator. We depend on God for our very existence every millisecond of our existence. We cannot transcend or suspend the laws by which the physical world functions. Our very attempts to do so create dire consequences. Nor can we ultimately succeed in rebelling against God as if by a declaration of human independence, we could establish a sovereign world.

Paul in his speech to the Athenians declared, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24-25). We continue because God upholds the world by his power. He maintains us with his constant thought and attention that undergirds everything. Paul went on to affirm the words of a Greek poet, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God is not dependent on us, but we require him constantly.

Stitching It In

There is no higher vision of humanity than that revealed in the Scriptures because there is no higher, more dramatic understanding of the triune Creator God. He made the cosmos to have a real existence and yet be in relationship to himself. God is sovereign but not remote. Everything created is not God but reflects and glorifies God. All the diversity and complexity and beauty, both gentle and dangerous, attractive and frightening, adorns the majesty of the Creator. He gives every aspect of creation its own place. And we, as his image bearers, get to explore and express how everything gives glory to the Creator.

The writer of Hebrews tells us how much it matters that we consider this unique vision of God and reach toward it in belief and trust: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. . . . And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:3, 6). As we exercise worshipful thanksgiving to the Creator, he reveals more and more of his gracious character to us.

Praying Along the Pattern

Everything that you made gives glory to you.

All that you brought into being with a real existence

Expresses your creative intent and so gives praise.

The light from a star that exploded millennia ago

Reaches us long after it ceased to be,

And yet across light years flares glory

To the intensity and endurance of your power.

The information within my cells praises your Mind,

Even as the same DNA somehow knows to keep making

Fingernail cells distinct from heart valve cells,

Making me always me, yet ever new.

The broad forehead I see

In my great-great-grandfather’s portrait

I also see in my grandchild,

Each person arrives utterly unique

Yet in continuity with the generations.

Each and all cry out your ever-fresh creativity

Expressed through ages of constancy.

Oh my LORD, all that exists

Adorns the majesty of the maker’s mind

Yet you give to humans alone a voice

To articulate your praise.

Making an Extra Stitch: Science vs. Scripture? Creation vs. Evolution?

How many of us have suffered the shock of childhood faith encountering evolution? A simple belief in creation suddenly smacks up against a theory that all things can be explained by evolutionary development. We become ashamed of our faith in God’s intentional creation for this theory seems to account for human life through the gradual change and development of species via a series of random mutations, worked out through the survival of the fittest over billions of years. It can seem that no super-intending by God was needed. This all just happened. The belief in creation seems childish and unnecessary. Suddenly it can seem that science opposes Scripture as if one has to choose creation or evolution, faith or reason.

But what if this is a false dichotomy? An unnecessary contradiction? What if a six-day creation a few thousand years ago or unguided development over billions of years are not the only options?

Let’s take a moment to consider the crucial difference between physics and metaphysics.

In its most basic, broadest definition, physics explores the mechanics of what exists. It explains the properties and phenomena of how things are in the cosmos. As such, physics considers the questions of “how” and “what.” How does gravity behave? What causes the Earth to spin?

Meta is a Greek preposition that means “above.” In this sense, meta-physics means doing physics from above. In other words, it entails asking the “why” questions about “what” we observe. Why is there something and not nothing? Why did these forces that keep the earth spinning come into being? Metaphysics considers questions of meaning.

When we talk about the hard sciences, we are not talking about metaphysics. Chemistry, biology and the specific physics of matter and energy do not address questions of meaning or purpose. Rather, these each consider the nature and function of the physical reality around us. That’s science. It has many strengths and also profound limits.

However, when we talk about philosophy and theology, we think about metaphysics. All the “why” questions and the meaning statements come to bear. Theology may employ the beautiful insights of science about the “what” of this complex universe. After all, noticing creation leads to doxology, that is, praising God. But theology’s focus is on the purpose and goal of the creation being observed. For example, theology’s task is not to map the human genome, but it may draw important implications of meaning from the ordered intricacy science uncovered in our genes.

Physics (i.e. science) and metaphysics (i.e. theology) properly raise and answer different questions. But, of course, the two interact. After all, we think and feel on many levels. But when one discipline purports to take the place of the other, much is lost.

Scientism occurs when the physics of science begins to claim ultimate priority for its way of exploring the universe. In that case, scientists assume to answer the questions of meaning or lack of meaning in what exists. They claim metaphysical territory. Such scientism can offer safe harbor to those who would rather there not be a God to whom we are accountable. The human impulse to be our own gods finds a platform in a metaphysics that there is no other intent or purpose in life beyond what we give it.

Similarly, believers in Scripture can create an unnecessary war with science if we insist that passages such as Genesis 1 and 2 can only be read like a contemporary science textbook. Then, for example, we expend enormous effort trying to explain, by today’s science, how daylight could be on the earth before the sun was created. But Scripture speaks with language higher and more enduring than any particular culture’s way of expression. After all, scientific theories are always updating or upheaving, but the meaning of the earth’s intentional creation by God speaks truthfully and transformationally across cultures and centuries.

With all that said, having the metaphysical worldview of Scripture actually makes us better scientists. Believing in a purposeful, ordered and intentional creation ignites inquiry about how it all works. Trusting in a Creator also frees us to innovate because we are not enslaved to whatever theories are current. We can question the dogmas of scientism the way brave believers once questioned the assumed truth that the sun revolves around the Earth. Therefore, we can, as good scientists, pursue true physics. We can joyfully inquire about how the world actually works. For example, we can ask questions about literal six-day creationism, unguided macroevolution, and any positions in between.

On the one hand, if we grant that Genesis 1 can still be true while speaking primarily about metaphysics, then we are free to ask questions about the physics of the world. The earth appears to be older than a few thousand years. Light comes from stars millions of light years away. The continents appear to have once been connected but are now separated. Spontaneous generation, organisms popping into being, does not seem to be occurring now. Did it once?

On the other hand, we are also free to ask questions about evolution. For we know that it is profoundly not unscientific to ask, “If all this developed through random mutations surviving through survival of the fittest over long periods of time, where is the fossil evidence for the millions of transitional species there must have been?” Or “How does the rising development of complexity in species fit with the second law of thermodynamics, the reality of entropy that things tend towards decay?” Or “How do we account for the ‘irreducible complexity’ in such things as sight and blood coagulation if they developed mutation by mutation over time?” Or “Why do species that supposedly developed in different epochs appear all together in the Cambrian fossils?”

If we grant that the purview of science is exploring the nature of what exists, not the meaning of why things exist, we can see that the existence of a Creator is not unscientific at all. In fact, the more we know about the cosmos, the more its complexity, unity and harmonious interaction all shout out the presence of a Designer. It is not unreasonable to assert a Creator. Rather, it is the better explanation for what we observe.

We need to understand the distinction between physics and metaphysics to face the reality of God and to explore openly the way God may have created.

To further contemplate the beauty of creation and the interaction between faith and science, you might enjoy downloading the app from Ken Boa Museum of Created Beauty or check out kenboa.org. You might also like the series of videos called "Wonder: The Harmony of Faith and Science" narrated by Jonathan Roumie.

Posted in: Lent

Day 1 In the Beginning . . . .

Posted on: March 9, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

WEEK ONE
CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

Étienne Colaud. The Creation of the Animals and the Birds. 1525, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.

On the question of creation, you can divide the world’s population roughly in two. One half believes the universe we see has always been; only the forms of energy and matter change. The other half believes that once upon a time the universe was not and that a creator brought it into being. You can whittle this second group down to those who believe a personal God intentionally created according to a plan. Christians uniquely take this even further. Alone among religions and philosophies, we connect a particular human being, Jesus, with the creation of all things.

Paul writes in Colossians 1:16-17 that all things were created by Jesus and through him. Even now it is through Jesus the Son of God who became the Son of Man that all things hold together. This colorful icon depicts the man Jesus calling the teeming variety of life into being in our beautiful world.

What we believe (or not) about creation profoundly affects how we view the purpose and value of our lives. To go about our days feeling like we are accidents is very different from considering ourselves to be intentionally and particularly designed. This week, we take up the golden thread of the triune God as Creator. We will see how embracing this wonderful reality can light up all our days with joy and purpose.

IN THE BEGINNING. . . .

Every day, pray aloud worshipfully this golden thread that weaves through the entire tapestry of God’s intent for us.

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,

when I will make a new covenant with the

house of Israel. . . .

I will put my law within them,

and I will write it on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They shall all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest. . . .

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will

remember their sin no more.

(Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Daily Scripture

Genesis 1:1-5, 26-28, 31

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Picking Up the Thread

God made everything. Is that too obvious? Do you take it for granted? Or do you doubt that it could be so? As our study opens, I long for us to be reinvigorated through realizing afresh that the LORD I AM, the triune God of grace, created and sustains all things.

The beauty of the Bible’s creation account settles us in the peace of finding our proper place in the universe. Through creation, we realize that the very world we encounter is intentional, ordered and good. Let’s consider further:

In the beginning. Genesis tells us that the universe had a start. At one time, all that is had not come into being. God initiated creation. We exist because God thought of us and then made us. He created all there is out of nothing according to his plan and power. Our beginning was intentional. Therefore, our continuing to live is purposeful. Life has meaning because all things were made by God and for God.

God shaped his new world over time. We read that, at first, the earth was without form and void, and the chaos of primordial waters covered everything. Then we read that the Spirit of God hovered over those chaotic waters. That is to say, he superintended the ordered formation of all things.

God spoke new things into being within his infant world. There was darkness. Then God said, “Let there be light.” And light occurred. Creation came about through the powerful word of God. What God speaks comes to be!

God saw that his creation was good. So there was one day, and then there was another. The very cadence of Genesis 1 communicates a peaceful sense of rhythm. It feels right to us as we read. Everything happened as it was supposed to. Moreover, the LORD himself took pleasure in this work. All matter and energy, all forces, all solids, liquids and gases, all particles and waves, indeed everything is pleasing to the Maker. It is good that creation exists!

Humanity is the pinnacle of creation. We were made distinctly male and female so that such complementarity might together be the image of God in the world. Our consciousness, our speech, our capacity to relate to Someone invisible to our eyes, our urge to perceive and create meaning are all part of the mystery of humanity being created after the likeness of God.

Stitching It In

We dare not lose the precious perception that the world is created. Skeptical, discouraging voices proclaim that life emerged from unguided and impersonal forces. To them, there is no purposed beginning and no intentional destination. Hence, depressingly, there is no reason to live because life has no meaning. If innate survival is the only essence of our existence, no wonder so many people live with gnawing despair!

But we have a better story. We can reclaim the daring declaration of Scripture that all things exist by the creative design and powerful action of our God. There is a meaning for everything. It all matters. Our purpose, joy and reason to live all have everything to do with a personal Creator. We recall that we have perceived since we were children that there must be a Maker. Paul writes, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20).

But too often as we grow up we enter humanity’s endless struggle to make up our own independent meaning. We can lose sight of the Creator. We forge our own way and begin to believe that we ourselves are the source and goal of life. Paul continues, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).

Sadly, we can lose the golden thread of our createdness. Sometimes the very pressure and busyness of daily life can keep us from honoring God as Creator and giving thanks. Sometimes our preoccupation with watching stories on screens or listening to voices in our earbuds deadens us to the beautiful and purposeful creation around us.

Recovery, though, can begin with the practice of “mindfulness.” That simply means intentionally becoming aware of what is around us, naming it and noticing it. This practice creates peace. Step outside. Take note. A dove sings alone on a wire. Crepe myrtles bloom again. Ants carry sand to their hill. Leaves wave in the breeze. Squirrels chase each other. This light rain smells fresh.

Then, as believers in a Creator, we turn mindfulness into gratitude. We give thanks for each thing we have noticed. And so we spring from peace into joy. Gracious Father, all this you intended and gave me to perceive!

Take some time now to give thanks specifically for at least three aspects of creation that you find beautiful, mystifying, awe-inspiring or delighting.

Praying Along the Pattern

O God, my God, by your word all that is came to be.

By your gracious will, you gave me the perception of such wonders:

Morning sun lights the waves

that crest and crash over me,

A crawling, dull caterpillar liquifies,

then emerges to fly with colorful wings.

Wildflowers in a forest bloom so briefly,

yet return year after year in the same place.

An infant laughs with her whole body

at the silly faces her sister makes.

A dog grabs a shoe for a chase, head fakes,

spins and sprints past me in triumph.

A Louisiana sunset turns

towering cumulus clouds orange and raspberry.

Every day, every second, your bountiful mind

Reveals itself in the ordinary.

You are God.

I thank you for the beauty that surrounds me

And the glory of all you make.

Posted in: Lent

Introduction to Golden Threads

Posted on: March 8, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Jean Bondol and Nicolas Bataille. River Flowing from the Throne of God. The Tapestry of the Apocalypse, 1377–1382, Château d’Angers, Angers, France. Alamy.

The goldwork embroidery in The Apocalypse Tapestry still shimmers 700 years after its creation. The actual gold metal wound into the threads evokes the splendor of this scene from Revelation 4. In Christian art, gold is the color of God’s glory, representing the hue through which God reveals his heavenly brilliance to earthbound creatures. Thus, this panel from the medieval French tapestry still elevates viewers into wonder. John beholds the Almighty One on the throne and the redeeming Lamb next to him. God is the shining reality underlying all creation. All things come from God and all things return to him. The golden threads stitch a bright home throughout the whole weaving.

We could also say that there are golden threads of phrases and word pictures running through Scripture from Genesis through Revelation that stitch the whole story together with glory. These golden threads reveal the deep underlying unity in the Bible and take us to the heart of God’s glorious narrative of redemption.

This Lent we will lift out six of these golden threads and spend a week exploring each:

1. Creation

2. The Lamb of God

3. God Will Dwell with Us

4. I Will Be Your God

5. Fear God

6. Fear Not

Test of a Golden Thread

As I chose which golden threads to pick out for this study, I used these criteria. First, the phrase, image or theme had to appear in at least five key locations: 1) Genesis, 2) the history of God’s people Israel, 3) the poetry of the psalms or prophets, 4) the story of Jesus (gospels or epistles), and 5) Revelation. Then, tracing one of these golden threads had to be a way to tell the gospel. That is, the thread had to connect to God’s overarching story of love which climaxed in Jesus. A golden thread has to invite us to participate in Scripture’s grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption, mission and recreation.

How to Use This Study in Twenty Minutes a Day

Jeremiah 31 Every Day: Don’t Skip This!

I invite you to pray aloud each day from the magnificent 31st chapter of Jeremiah. This passage takes us to the very heart of the Bible’s revelation. It contains the central golden thread which stitches together the whole story. We can look at any part of the Bible through the lens of this passage and watch it start to shimmer with God’s glory. Therefore, it’s spiritually formative for us to say this passage so often that we come to know it by heart and so possess it as a great treasure. Please do read it aloud every day at least once.

Daily Scripture

We’ll read a selection of texts that contain the week’s golden thread. Take your time. You might want to read these once silently and once aloud. As the week progresses make note of how the thread appears in different historical events and poetic reflections. Try to stay aware of how this golden thread ties together the Bible’s whole revelation.

Picking Up the Thread

These golden threads occur in a variety of places and forms in the Bible, so in this section, we will unpack the different contexts of each golden thread. Over a week, we might explore how the thread relates to the very early accounts of Genesis or how it appears in the teaching and events of the life of Jesus and the way the apostles reflected on Christ. We might consider what the thread means as it is presented in the poetry of a psalm or a promise in the prophets. Or we might contemplate what it means that this thread still shimmers with meaning in the Bible’s final book.

Stitching It In

In this section, we will invite the Spirit to weave this golden thread into our daily lives. We’ll consider what the truth of the key phrases and/or images means for our growth in Christ and our carrying out his mission in the world.

Praying Along the Pattern

This is where we strive to internalize what we learn through this golden thread by praying it back to God. I’ve offered words through which you can press close to Jesus as you encounter him in these Scriptures. Of course, this is only a springboard for you to continue with your own prayers!

Many centuries ago, a church father who became known as Gregory the Great realized that “Scripture grows with the reader.” This conveys that the Bible’s storyline is simple enough to teach to a child, but the depths of this narrative will occupy us throughout eternity. A lifetime of close and prayerful study reveals there is always more to find. The more we explore, the more we discover how profoundly the Bible holds together. Though written by more than 35 authors across a timespan of at least 1,500 years, Scripture tells a single story of the God who loves us enough to become one of us forever. I pray that daily tracing these golden threads will make your hearts glow from the brilliance of God’s priceless revelation to us.

Acknowledgments

It’s a pleasure to write with you in mind beloved congregation! Your thirst for God’s Word inspires me continually. Together, we’ve followed the Spirit’s leading to press further into the beauty of Christ. I’m also so grateful to work with such a skilled and dedicated team of staff members. In particular, this is the 14th Lent study Katie Robinson and I have worked on together. Her layout and design skills make the words so much more effective. And this marks Dr. Jean Rohloff’s third year editing the book for clarity and readability. Laura Shaw and others sacrifice their eyes for proofreading. And it’s such a treat to work with Lauren Honea, Scott Graham and Jacob Struppeck on the podcasts. One more time, then, let’s take 42 days to quest for more of Christ as we prepare to celebrate his resurrection.

Posted in: Lent

Stitched into THE Story

Posted on: February 28, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Incredibly strong steel cords lie inside the concrete of major highways,

buildings and dams. We don’t see these cords, but they bear up under great pressure and hold everything together. What if there are such cords in the Bible? And what if we could lift out and see these cords, these golden threads, that tie together the whole story of God’s plan for our world? Think with me about this for a moment.

The Bible is one book. But it actually contains 66 separate books. These were written by at least 35 different authors across 1500 years. Yet, mysteriously, the Bible still has a deep underlying unity. It all holds together. Scripture has a storyline simple enough to teach a young child, but deep enough to occupy our minds for the rest of our lives. As one of the church fathers said, “The Bible grows with the reader.” The more you read the more you find. The deeper you mine, the more treasure you excavate. Like no other literature, the Bible contains history, poetry, stories, prophecies, theology, doxology, personal letters and visions of the world’s end. Yet through it all the one God reveals a consistent long-term mission to redeem his creation which went astray.

Even with the Bible’s complex diversity, there are, astoundingly, themes, phrases, and images which recur from beginning to end. I call them golden threads. This Lent, we’ll be lifting up six of these shimmering cords that tie together the story of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. We will see how each one gives us a unique way to tell the whole story of the Bible. The golden threads will reveal to us what God is really up to in our lives and in the world. We will get stitched into the magnificent tapestry that is God’s Word.

During Lent, we focus together as a congregation. The program operates on multiple levels. The whole goal is being formed more deeply by the Holy Spirit.

We read one key verse every day for 42 days, so that it becomes part of us. We follow a golden thread each day for a week. We lift up that thread from the early stories of God’s people through the life of Jesus and into the mission of Christ’s people. Above all we pray. The suggested prayers offer a way to launch your own prayers and be stitched into God’s great story.

Golden Threads gets delivered in multiple formats. There’s a printed book filled with gorgeous full color art and laid out for ease of reading. We offer a daily email of the printed content for those who like to read on devices. And, back by popular demand, a daily podcast delivers Golden Threads to those who enjoy content by audio. Plus, we offer 25 community groups meeting all over town at different of times so you can dive deep with others. Of course, the messages and music in worship lift up each week’s golden thread.

One of the ways I seek to express my love for you is by offering you the very best of what I have found questing into Scripture. I think well enough of you to strive to bring you insights that will be challenging and fresh, yet grounded in our historic beliefs. I put heart and soul into the ten months it takes to prepare for this journey with you. I hope you will share books and podcasts with others even as we go together through these 42 days.

Link to All Things Lent

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Is This Sci-Fi or What?

Posted on: January 3, 2025
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

2025! Sounds like a song from the 60’s about a far distant dystopian

future. Shouldn’t we all be riding in sky cars like on the Jetsons cartoon? And how is the 21st century a quarter of the way finished? Our 67,000 mile per hour journey around the sun has never seemed faster. As George Jetson used to say every episode, “Jane! Stop this crazy thing!”

At the same time, each new year still brings the excitement of a fresh start. The months stretch out before us with hope that good things can be accomplished. Happy surprises can offset the inevitable difficulties. Relationships can be improved. We can grow in Christ.

That all makes me realize I am currently a prisoner in time who yet has the freedom of eternity inside my heart. I can’t stop the years. But I can realize and partake of the one who is God from everlasting to everlasting. In Christ, I am free to live now with abandon for Christ, as if my life will go on forever. Because it will.

So all of that is just another way of saying the mission of our church. Rushing down time’s ever rolling stream, we gather together to discover the anchor we have in heaven. In Christ, we are not going into the abyss! We are heading for the beautiful new heavens and new earth. Along the way, we offer this eternal lifeline to those who are slipping, sinking, struggling in these days. In other words, as ever, our mission is to go deeper in Christ and further into the world. I savor questing for just that with you, dear congregation!

Celebrating Whitney through Mission

At the end of this month we will celebrate the quarter century ministry

of Whitney Alexander. From youth director to missions minister, this man with the gigantic heart has shepherded people of all ages and all over the world. Some lines that captures Whitney’s wonderful style of ministry could be, “Hey, why don’t you come with me? I’ll pick you up! In fact, I’m on the way now!” Who else could get 75 kids on a 55 passenger bus and still add one more, safely? Who else would drive a team into disaster zones the rest of us avoid? Who else would spend an evening in a Russian jail with another elder? Who else would show up at your house, in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, because somehow, some way, he heard you had a need? On Sunday, January 26, we’ll have one worship service at 10.30 am. Whitney will preach about the enduring legacy of mission. Afterwards we’ll have a reception in his honor. Meanwhile, he hopes we will all honor him by attending all or portions of the global mission conference that occurs that same weekend. Details are in this issue. Thank you, Whitney for your years of service.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Would You Dance at This Wedding?

Posted on: November 26, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

This Advent our theme is the wedding feast of the Lamb. Every Christmas we celebrate the first advent of our savior. That’s when Jesus wedded himself to human flesh and came to us as a baby. We also look forward to the second advent of Jesus. He will return again to this world. And he’s coming back for a wedding. Our wedding! The marriage of the Church to the Lamb of God. The celebration that Christ our bridegroom will come to wed his beloved bride, all those who have been united to him in faith.

It’s no accident that Revelation wraps up with a wedding celebration. New life comes from marriage, in all the ways a committed love blesses the world. The return of our bridegroom Jesus will make all things new. He will set everything right, wiping away tears, destroying death, restoring relationships and renewing the whole creation. That’s reason to rejoice. That’s reason to dance at this ultimate wedding reception.

So you won’t want to miss Dancing Day, our Christmas cantata on December 8 at 9 and 11 am. This service features original music by Chris Phillips, an orchestra, the full voices of our combined choir and worship team, and, of course, dancers! This is a great service to bring guests with you.

We love to keep Christmas with you. So once again we’ll host the Live Nativity in our Terraced Garden on Friday, December 6 at 5.30 and 6.30 pm. Animals, angel dance and a full cast of characters bring the beloved story to life. On Christmas Eve, we’ll have our usual three festive services at 11 am, 4 pm, and 6 pm. I’ll preach on the theme, “It is Good That You Exist!” On December 29, we’ll have a cozy, casual single service at 10.30 am.

Christmas Offering

Every year, in a very understated way, we make available a special offering to undergird two ministries beloved to our church. Every year, quietly, you shatter giving records and send the ministry leaders soaring into the new year with hope.

The Christian Outreach Center, led by Brian Sleeth, helps thousands of people through the year with basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and electricity. But more, the COC offers effective programs in job readiness, financial literacy and even re-entry from prison to a contributing life. The Gardere Community Christian School, led by Lauren Darden, educates 160 students from pre-K to fifth grade. This multi-ethnic Christian school consistently sees dramatic improvement in students’ test scores, outpacing both public and charter schools in its area. Most importantly, Gardere effectively forms these little ones in the love and story of Jesus. Both ministries light many flames of hope, and it’s a joy to support them.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Season of Memories and Hopes

Posted on: October 29, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

At the close of the year, we welcome the loosening of heat’s grip (at last) and the pleasantness of our town in these months. We also start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. Anticipation builds for seeing loved ones. Sorrow rises over who won’t be there this year. It’s a poignant time. Even though winter does not close in on us like it does in the north, we feel the impulse of home gathering, with all the memories and hopes it brings.

Some November Notes:

On the afternoon of Sunday, November 10 at 4 pm, we will host a worship service for those who have lost children. We will give space for grief and gently recall the hope of the gospel. We will be able to light candles to affirm that the light of life continues in Christ, and we will see our little ones again. You are most welcome to bring friends from outside our church.

Earlier that day, we will have dedicated our 2025 estimates of giving during worship. I can never stress enough how helpful it is to our planning when our members make an intentional estimate of how they expect to support financially our church in the coming year. In case you’re traveling, remember how easy it is to turn in your estimate! Just visit fpcbr.org or email Courtney Hilton (courtney@fpcbr.org).

November 1 saw the official ground breaking for Gardere Community Christian School’s new multi-purpose building. That meant we were able to complete our half million dollar pledge from the Building Up campaign. Well done!

Advent begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving. As we prepare to celebrate the first coming of Jesus at Christmas, we will also celebrate and await his second coming. The beautiful vision of the wedding supper of the Lamb to his bride, the church, will flow through all our services. One highlight will be the choir cantata December 8, “Dancing Days,” featuring all new music from Chris Phillips, combined choirs and an orchestra. That’s a big weekend as our perennially popular Live Nativity returns Friday, December 6. It’s always a joy to keep this season with you, in both the memories and the hopes it brings. Especially now, I love being your pastor.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

So Much Still Ahead

Posted on: August 28, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

I have to tell you, it’s been really hard for me making a decision to announce my retirement so far in advance. It feels like something that in reality it is not, like a break-up, or a dying, or a leave-taking. Worst of all, I dread the possibility of our relationship changing before it actually changes. My heart for you has not changed! The pastoral position itself creates a magnetic connection between the minister and the congregation. Personal affection between us only makes that stronger. When I do retire, that “force field” between pastor and flock will switch to a new shepherd. That pains me. But it also gives me great hope. It’s the very reason why I’ve undertaken this transition plan. Now, while I still have passion for this ministry and while our congregation pulses with energy and faith, is the time to plan a smooth hand-off.

But that doesn’t mean I’m quitting! That doesn’t mean we are not bonded together by the Spirit in this wonderful relationship. That doesn’t mean we stop pressing deeper into Christ together and reaching with his love further into the world. It’s just the realization that church is about the work of God among a group of people through generations of leadership and growth. Our current elders are very excited and passionate about welcoming and raising up the next wave of leaders to carry us forward. That has been a focus of mine for the last twenty years!

The process of discerning and calling the next senior pastor takes a long time! We have lots left to do together. I’m energized to preach through Revelation, to finish preparing our next Lent study, to engage a team to create a master plan for our facilities and campus, to secure leadership for our mission endeavors, and to cheerlead all the surging ministries in Bible study, prayer, children, youth and outreach. Let’s all stay at it, serving and worshiping Christ through this amazing church on North Boulevard!

With you always in Christ,

Gerrit

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Suddenly Last Summer

Posted on: July 30, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

And just like that lazy days of summer are gone and a new school year arrives. It’s the very definition of the word “oxymoron” to talk about the fall programs beginning in the suffocating heat of August. But it’s true! Everything is cranking up.

Here’s a preview. This Sunday, August 4, will be our final single service. As worship concludes, we’ll be celebrating the ministry of Barry Phillips with a festive reception.

August 11, we return to our usual three services. That’s a good time to check out a service you don’t normally go to. I encourage us to all be “multi-lingual” in our worship expressions. I’ll be starting our fall series on Revelation. I’ve never preached through the entire book before. I’m eager to engage this premier worship book with you.

Adult and children’s Sunday school also resume on the 11th. This is a great time to make a commitment to deepen your discipleship by joining a class. Our teachers are passionate and engaging.

Opportunities to serve are also coming up. Did you know our programs require over 500 hours of child care each month? We could really use more loving volunteers of many generations to give a few hours a month looking after our little ones. Soon, we begin mentoring at Gardere Community Christian School through our Kids Hope USA program. You can also get involved in encouraging a teacher or reading to students at McKinley Elementary.

Looking ahead, we have a great opportunity to grow close together by sweating together! Beginning September 5, we will be constructing our 8th Habitat House! All kinds of volunteers are needed from skilled builders to snack providers, from earnest pray-ers to grunt workers at my skill level! It’s a great feeling to work with a new homeowner in creating a house.

As ever, know that I love being your pastor and I’m eager to share in life and ministry with you this fall.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

The Joy of Rhythms

Posted on: May 29, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

“Summer’s here, I’m for that, got my rubber sandals, got my straw hat.” Remember that old song by James Taylor? Even as the heat moves in, we feel the excitement of a change in rhythm. School’s out. Traffic’s better (“better” being a relative word!), vacations await. We had a wonderfully intense Lent, followed by a season of celebrating confirmations, baptisms, graduations, memorials and weddings. Now most of the church slows down. But children’s ministry ramps up with Vacation Bible School. Youth ministry accelerates with camp opportunities. Members take off on mission trips as well as holidays.

Meanwhile, we still meet Sunday after Sunday. That’s a crucial part of rhythm too. Continuity in worshiping our triune God, studying his Word and encouraging each other. We’re here, every week, as anchor for your life. Stay tethered through our livestream while you travel. Come create the party of worship as often as you can. And know that your leaders are thinking deeply and creatively about our future.

The elders, especially the strategic planning team, are busy building off the great data we got through the congregational survey. We hope to unveil our five year strategic plan for you this fall. Keep us in prayer!

Meanwhile, we are moving forward with a north Baton Rouge church plant. You can hear pastor Ron Hicks preach on July 14! We also celebrate the mission outreach we can underwrite through the gifts from our endowments. The session recently funded a young EPC church planter in the Atlanta area, and contributed to the church plant training our denomination has undertaken. We funded three seminary students, and contributed to a major evangelism program with our sister church in Cairo. Life rhythms have changed, but the ministry and mission of your church pulses forward this summer. As ever, please know how much I love being your pastor.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Church Planting, Staff Changes and Celebrations

Posted on: April 30, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

May is the time we joyfully witness about 25 6th graders make their public profession of faith. We also send off our high school seniors with blessing prayers. And we get ready to say goodbye to several long-time, faithful staff members.

One of the hallmarks of a healthy church is the tenure of the professionals who work there. Longevity signals loyalty, effectiveness, spiritual vitality and harmonious personality. In the coming year three key retirements are scheduled.

Carol Pruitt will retire as bookkeeper at the end of July. Carol has grown with our church finances. She handles all the financial gifts and expenditures, keeps up with staff medical and retirement benefits, and works cheerfully and confidentially.

Barry Phillips has been my right hand man in his capacity as ministry executive for 18 years. “Papa Barry” develops the budgeting process, oversees employee relations and supervises care of building and grounds. His anchoring work has freed me to focus on preaching, teaching and vision. Though he will serve in a consulting capacity through year’s end, Barry’s retirement as a full-time staffer occurs August 15.

Our longest tenured pastor, Whitney Alexander will retire January 31 after 26 years on our team. Whitney led our youth ministry for years, then seamlessly transitioned to overseeing city and global ministry. He has connected us to Christ’s work throughout Baton Rouge and around the world. Somehow, he always shows up just where we need him most.

That’s a lot of change! But your leaders have been planning strategically. Church member Courtney Hilton takes over as bookkeeper this summer after a brief period of overlap with Carol. Courtney brings years of corporate accounting experience along with her deep faith, consistent commitment to church and winsome personality. We will be in good hands.

Meanwhile, we’ve realized that the scope of ministry executive has grown beyond what one person will do. Kelly Wood will step into the role of ministry executive. Her experience as an Exxon project manager has given her the skills to turn vision into action. (We saw that during the Stewarding God’s Grace campaign which she oversaw last fall). Her focus will be on executing the plan of the session through the work of the staff and committees. She’ll be sure everything we do aligns with the overall vision and strategic plan. Long-time elder and trustee DJ Davis will take a part-time role as administrative executive. His purview will be personnel, finances and facilities. Thanks be to God, we will be in good hands.

That leaves us some time to consider how we will continue pressing forward in mission and best utilize that associate pastor position. Stay tuned, and please stay prayerful!

The Sanctuary

We’ve been hinting at it for months, but our session made it official: God is calling us to plant a church in North Baton Rouge. The pastors of the church will be Ron Hicks, Daryl Waters and George Gillam. Former Angola inmates, these men have a passion for reaching at-risk youth, difficult communities and others formerly incarcerated. We’ve heard George preach twice from our pulpit. We’ll get to hear Ron this summer. The new church will be called The Sanctuary and it will be overseen by a team of six elders, and underwritten by the church planting fund we established some years ago. For the rest of this year, they will be building a core leadership team, scoping out a physical site and gathering potential members. We envision an official launch next winter. More details to come. And once again, please offer your prayers for this endeavor. It’s an exciting time to be your pastor, and to be in ministry with you.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Ready for a Third Century?

Posted on: April 4, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

This time three years from now, we will celebrate our 200th

anniversary as a church! We’re already thinking about it! Most importantly, your leadership seeks to discern the leading of the Triune God as we round into our bicentennial.

Part of that discernment is undertaking a new long term vision process. This will lead to preparing a strategic plan to guide the next five years. We’ve partnered with Mesh, a local creative marketing firm who has delivered great results with other local Christian organizations, such as Gardere Community Christian School and the Dunham School. They specialize in helping groups clarify vision, then turn vision into strategy.

This is the fun part: we all get to play a role! More than 80 of us will be engaged in focus groups, including the staff, the elders and a representative at-large group. All of us will be invited to participate in a congregational survey. You’ll receive an invitation by email. The link will take you to the brief but important survey about our priorities. You can expect this email from the church by the end of the month. We really want to hear from you! My hope is that everyone will take the survey within a week of receiving the link.

The session and Mesh will collate and review the responses from the focus groups and the survey. These provide the voice of the congregation as we prayerfully craft a strategic plan. A stellar planning committee will lead the writing effort. David Kozan, Cheryl Broadnax, Barry Phillips, Kelly Wood and Will Adams will be working with me to bring the session a document to consider for the vision and strategy that will begin our third century. The elders will then present to you the final document that the whole congregation has helped to shape.

We’re working specifically in the areas of mission fidelity, preparing for next generation members and leaders, pastoral and staff support, facilities upgrades, fiscal sustainability and ministry/mission expansion.

It’s a great delight and a great responsibility to stand on the shoulders of two centuries of faithfulness. As you join me in participating in the survey, please know that I love being your pastor and I rejoice to look toward our future,

Gerrit

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Why Do We Keep Time?

Posted on: February 28, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

I had a wonderful time visiting with Caroline Breard’s third grade class at Dunham. She asked me to come talk about what Lent means. So I asked the children how long before their birthdays they actually started thinking about their birthdays. Some said a month, some said all year! I asked the same about Christmas. We agreed that anticipating a celebration makes it all the better.

Every spring, Christ’s people celebrate his resurrection. But for centuries and centuries, we’ve been making plans to think more about Jesus before Easter. We get ready to celebrate by taking more time to think about his life and death.

We also talked about football games (how can you not in Baton Rouge???). They agreed that a great game is not a 72-0 blow out against a junior college. A great game is a close struggle. The greatest games include come backs, when it looked like all was lost. That’s why we think about Jesus’ death before we celebrate his resurrection. It was the greatest struggle of all time. And it looked like the game was over when Jesus died. But then in the most wonderful surprise, the Father raised Jesus. The more we think about his ministry and his dying, the more joy we have at Easter.

These are sharp kids. They got it. We get it too. We keep time with Jesus during Lent so that we can join our story to his story. So his victory over death can be our victory.

I’m so proud of you when I think how you are pressing in close to Jesus this Lent. Connecting psalms with events in Jesus’ life, and praying alongside him takes energy, imagination and discipline. But you’re doing it! As an early Easter arrives at the end of this month, keep preparing, dear church. We’re going to have quite a celebration.

You’ll want to plan now for the fun of Palm Sunday, March 24, the deep passion of the Service of Shadows on March 28, and the release of Easter joy on March 31. I love being your pastor, especially at this time of year.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Praying Alongside Jesus

Posted on: January 31, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

What if we could pray with Jesus? Not just to him, about our concerns. What would happen if we stood next to Jesus, offering up the same prayers he made to his Father? What if we joined Jesus in the events of his life, then pressed close to him by sharing in his emotions? What if we spent our prayer time being engaged about what mattered in Christ’s life?

I can tell you what happened to me. I grew to love Jesus more. And I felt his heart getting formed more inside my heart. I got energized by the urgency of his mission. I came to admire Jesus more than ever. Adoring him creates a profound effect in me. Peace. Passion. Hope. Wonder.

Could that happen to you? I mean, what if the best way to change us is actually focusing on Jesus? As it turns out, getting inside Jesus’ prayer life lights up our prayers. Tucking up close to his heartbeat in the events of his life transforms our hearts. The closer we draw to him, the more Jesus gives life to us.

But how? Is there not an impossible gap between Jesus and me? Aren’t the events of his life lost in the past? We don’t know what he prayed so how can we join him? I know. It sounds presumptuous and not a little crazy.

But there is a bridge. A reliable, compelling, available bridge. It’s built of two interconnected parts, the Psalms and the Gospels. Jesus knew and prayed the psalms. We can pray those same psalms as we participate spiritually in the events of his life recorded in the Gospels. It could be like nothing you’ve ever done!

That’s the adventure we’ll be on together this Lent. I pray you will be transformed by learning to pray alongside Jesus.

Five Ways to Participate

1) Lyrics for His Life: Praying the Psalms with Jesus. On February 18, we’ll distribute copies of this beautiful, full color, 238 page book. You’ll find reading and prayers for the 42 days leading to Easter. Yes, you can grab copies for friends, and yes some advance copies will be available February 11.

2) Daily Podcasts. Prefer to listen while you go about your day? Sign up for the daily podcast link. Lauren Honea and Scott Graham join me in bringing you each day’s readings. Subscribe to podcasts.

3) Daily Emails: Prefer to read on your device? Find each day’s reading in your inbox! It takes 22 seconds to sign up via our website!

4) Community Groups: Reading, discussing and praying with others always takes us deeper. Join the more than 300 who participated last year meeting in homes, praying together and sharing life going deeper in Christ. Email Kelly Wood for more on joining or leading a Community Group.

5) Weekly Worship: Each week through April, we’ll focus on a particular psalm Jesus prayed and consider what it might have meant to him. We’ll learn to pray alongside our Lord as we press in to the events of his life, death and resurrection.

6) Wednesday Noon Services. Beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 14, we’ll meet each week for worship and communion, focusing on a psalm Jesus prayed. There will even be opportunities for more experiential prayer times. Further details on Wednesday worship.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Reflecting and Visioning

Posted on: January 8, 2024
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

At the turn of the year, I like to remember and give thanks, then look forward. First of all for you, beloved church. I brag about you to my colleagues all the time. Your sincere faith in Christ Jesus, your passion for his Word, your love for one another, your engagement with our community, your realization that being in Christ empowers and influences every aspect of life. It really is a joy to be your pastor!

In particular, I want to express thanks for our staff team. Nearly all of them are dedicated church members. They are us! And how they love Jesus and his people. We strive to make every experience at church feel seamless and appear effortless, organized and comfortable. When I think of what it takes to host Sundays that invite and elevate, with the literally hundreds of moving pieces, I feel so grateful for a team that serves with such energy and excellence. They strive to include, knit, integrate and bless the whole congregation into one. And they feel your love.

Looking forward, our 200th anniversary is just three years away! I’m excited that the foremost way we will prepare is to start a process of long-range visioning that will lead to a five-year strategic plan. During the first half of this year, you’ll hear about opportunities to provide input into our priorities. Congregational engagement will be essential to the direction our elders give to begin our 3rd century.

More near term, this winter we’ll finish out our series on Ephesians.

There are some powerful passages yet to come. Lent comes early, so in mid-February we’ll take up Lyrics for His Life: Praying the Psalms with Jesus. This is a book I’ve wanted to write for a long time. It was quite moving to imagine which psalms Jesus might have prayed during events of his life, and then to join him in prayer. I believe you’ll get closer to Christ as you pray psalms alongside him. In addition to reading the printed book and daily emails, this year you can also listen to the daily content on our Lyrics for His Life podcast! Being part of a community group deepens the whole experience, so I hope we’ll have a record number of participants.

Meanwhile, the wonderful programs and missions of our church kick back into high gear, and there are lots of ways to get involved. It’s good to be on the quest with you, the quest to press deeper into Christ and share his love further into the world.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Catch Fire!

Posted on: November 30, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

I have a friend who got to carry the Olympic torch for a few minutes along its journey from Greece to Salt Lake City. Thousands of people, specially selected, take part in this massive relay. The torch catches fire in Olympia, site of the first ancient games, and then passes through thousands of persons to the location of the next Olympics. Sometimes the flame gets passed to an underwater torch; sometimes it flies in four lanterns on a plane. But so far, it has never failed to make it.

That’s a lot like the story we tell at Christmas. The early believers came to learn what they probably did not know during Jesus’ ministry. How he was born far from home and cradled in a feeding trough. How angels sang before shepherds. How wise men followed a unique star. These accounts caught fire. They became precious to those who have given their lives to Jesus. So the reports have passed across oceans, over mountains, through deserts and hundreds of languages. The true story of a Savior’s birth.

This Advent, as we prepare for Christmas, our theme is light. We hope

to catch fire from the birth of the Savior. The twist is that our flame does not begin on earth, not even from a place as cool as Mt. Olympus. This is a heavenly fire. Not from down here. A spiritual flame of life jumped the gap and caught fire in the virgin’s womb. The Spirit enabled Mary to conceive Jesus, the truly human, truly divine redeemer.

When our hearts catch fire with that miracle, our whole lives light up. I love keeping this season with you and I hope you’ll make it here every

week as we catch fire from Scriptures full of light and songs that light up the heavens with Christ’s glory. You especially don’t want to miss the Cantata on December 10, featuring our combined choirs, an orchestra and music written and arranged by our own Chris Phillips. We’ll have three services on December 24 and I’ll preach “All Along the Watchtower” at each.

More Advent Happenings

Christmas Offering

Every year, in a very understated way, we make available a special offering to undergird two ministries beloved to our church. Every year, quietly, you shatter giving records and send the ministry leaders soaring into the new year with hope.

The Christian Outreach Center, led by Brian Sleeth, helps thousands of people through the year with basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and electricity. But more, the COC offers effective programs in job readiness, financial literacy and even re-entry from prison to a contributing life.

The Gardere Community Christian School, led by Lauren Darden, educates 150 students from preschool to fifth grade. This multi-ethnic Christian school consistently sees dramatic improvement in students’ test scores, outpacing both public and charter schools in its area. Most importantly, Gardere effectively forms these little ones in the love and story of Jesus. Both ministries light many flames of hope, and it’s a joy to support them.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

All the Things to Love

Posted on: October 30, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

"All the Things to Love" is the title of a book we used to read our children. It had beautiful pictures of many ordinary sights in which we can find beauty and joy. Serving God through his church is just like that. There’s so much we can do. Much of it seems obvious and ordinary. Until we think about it. Then realize, “Oh! This is a way I give glory back to God for the grace he has given me!” From arriving ten minutes early to speak to people to singing to teaching little ones to looking over the church finances to joining a mission team to visiting a homebound member to setting up communion . . . there is a cascade of ways we offer ourselves to God by participating in the life of the church. And when we ponder it for just a minute, we realize we love these activities.

This autumn, we’ve been enjoying the weekly videos in which our members joyfully share the ways they steward God’s grace in our church. We’ve also distributed a catalog on the hundreds of ways we serve—the hundreds of opportunities there are for all of us.

This has all been preparation for a special day of dedication, Sunday, November 12. By now you will have received a dedication card to fill out. We want everyone (yes, you!) to use these cards to make note of how you’re stewarding God’s grace. That is, to write what you are doing and what you’d like to do. Then we’ll offer that card to God as part of worship. It will be a way of recommitting ourselves to Christ, together, as people united at First Presbyterian.

That card will also include a way to offer our estimates of giving for the coming year. That’s a crucial part of your leadership’s planning process. I love to share that your elders are prudent: we don’t plan to spend more than we can expect. But your elders are also visionary: we put into play all the resources we can expect. That way every gift, all year long, truly counts.

We know how much God has blessed us in Christ Jesus and through our church. I believe that November 12 will release joy as we intentionally dedicate ourselves, together, in worship at each service. Please make every effort to be there! I eagerly look forward to this day because, as ever, I love being your pastor!

Estimate of Giving Form

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Give Glory! Stewarding God's Grace

Posted on: September 28, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Suppose you were down on Bayou Black and saw the sun setting all washed with pinks and reds. What would you do? Maybe speak. “That’s gorgeous!” Maybe take a picture. “I have to show this to everybody!” Or maybe you want a picture so you can paint it. You just want to soak in and give back some of that beauty. Maybe you just take it all in quietly, praying in your heart, “Thank you God.” We encounter beauty and we want to respond.

Here’s news. God himself wants us to reply to the beauty he reveals! He wants us to make a return. To thank him with full hearts in worship. And to share with others the treasure he has revealed to us.

There is nothing more beautiful in all the universe than Jesus. He is the face of God shining on us. He is the heart of God opened to us. When we catch sight of the risen Savior holding out his nail-pierced hands in welcome, our breath catches. This is how you love me? “Come to me,” he beckons. And our hearts leap toward his open arms in full devotion. When we perceive Christ’s beauty, we want to tell him, “You’re beautiful!” We want to declare that beauty. Sing it. Draw it. Guard it. Share it. Serve it. Drink it in and give it out joyfully.

Our triune God eagerly desires us to reply to the beauty of the love he shares. There are a myriad of ways to do that. Peter wrote, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” God shares his beautiful grace through his people. His glory gets made known through all the ways we offer back from what we have received. This can be service or teaching. Hospitality or administering. Preaching or cleaning. Changing babies or singing. Giving money or spending time. Studying or painting. We give glory to our glorious God as we adorn him through the ways we offer back ourselves.

That’s our focus this fall. We want to celebrate the ways we are stewarding God’s grace through our church. You’ll be amazed to realize all the ways you are already doing this! On November 12, we want to rededicate ourselves as a reply to Christ’s beautiful grace. We’ll make our financial commitments, of course. They’re crucial! We’ll also offer back the places where we are serving and where we might like to serve more in the future.

Who Dat?

Posted on: August 28, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

If you’re part of “Saints Nation,” you know the chant. “Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” For years, it’s been a rallying cry for games. The essence is straight from the playground: “Our guys are better than your guys! If you think your guys will win, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”

I’ve recently been reading about a “Who dat?” moment in Psalm 24. The psalm was written for a worship parade. The people remembered the glorious day when young King David had recovered the sacred Ark of the Covenant from the dreaded Philistines. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments. It’s top was the mercy seat, where atoning blood was offered. In short, the Ark meant the saving presence of the LORD. Through a great victory, the Ark was going back to its holy place in the sanctuary. Symbolically, God was coming home.

This historical moment was so sacred that it got re-enacted year after year. Psalm 24 describes a dialogue between the throng of people and the gatekeepers of the temple. The crowd cries out, “Open up, you gates, that the King of glory may come in!” The gatekeepers reply, “Who is the King of glory?” In other words, “Who dat?” What God is mightier than all gods? Who do you worship? Why should we let that God be in the heart of our sanctuary? Who dat God you got?

The people reply “The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle. He is the King of glory. So let us in to worship the one true God who redeems and saves.

Open up!”

I can imagine this exchange going back and forth for a while until the people’s voice thunders. The trumpets blow and cymbals clash who dat? “The LORD, the LORD, the LORD, dat’s who!” So the gates open and the people dance to the house of the LORD and enthrone him as King all over again.

I hope you feel that when you come to worship. We proclaim the King of glory clearly and joyfully. I hope people all over will ask, “Who dat? Who dat God dey worship at First?” For we have a glad answer. The Lord Jesus Christ, the King of love, the suffering savior, the reigning Lord, the Lamb who was slain, the Messiah who is coming again to set all things right, the man who is God, he is the King of glory!

One 11 am Service September 3

Members of Abounding Love Ministries will join us for a special combined worship service Sunday, September 3 at 11 am. Pastor Adraine White will deliver the message, their worship team will join ours and we’ll have communion together. Don’t miss it! There will be no Sunday school.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Which Way Is Your Face?

Posted on: April 26, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

That’s a great question for a church! We head where our faces, well, face! So which direction should a church point its nose? I tend to think the answer is that we are called to be four-faced. The “direction” of a church can never be just one way. A vibrant church faces upwards, outwards, sideways, and, with caution and on occasion, inwards.

First and always we look upwards to the Triune God. “Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion,” says Amos. “Look upon him and be radiant,” says the Psalmist. “Set your hearts on things above where Christ is,” wrote Paul. We use upwards in relation to God to acknowledge that God is the reality, and he is always more than we are. God is not just an internal spiritual part of us. He is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by whom all things were made. You can tell how a church faces upward by how that congregation admires Jesus, the face of God turned toward us.

We look sideways because Jesus connected loving him to loving one another. “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” That’s the truth! We want to be a church full of people who look at each other. In such a way that we see how it is with one another. We regard, listen, respond. Our sideways face radiates love.

The inward look is tricky. Because we can, like Narcissus, get enamored with our own reflection. Or mired in our own needs. Or stuck in our old shames. The proper inward look takes time to a) confess our sins and repent of them, and b) notice all the blessings of God and give thanks for them. We always need to grow in awareness as individuals and a church body. But never to stay stuck looking inward! Our inward look drives us to look up to Jesus, sideways to each other, and . . .

Outward to the world. A hurting world wants to know, “Do you see me? Do you drive around me or come to visit me? Do you bask in the warmth you have with each other without opening the circle or extending the reach?” I’m always proud of our church, but I especially admire the relentless outward facing. As individuals, you are aware that every day you enter the mission field of your life. You know that your work is part of caring for the world. You look for opportunities to love and serve in every situation. And as a body, we push outwards in mission.

We’ve been blessed with abundance. We have an endowment. But your leaders make sure endowment income from our Foundation faces outwards. Last week the session released $79,000. We’re supporting five seminary students training for either church ministry or Christian counseling. We granted a Russ Stevenson Church Planting scholarship to a pastor beginning an EPC church in Smyrna, GA. We also reached across continents, making a grant to our partner church in Cairo for youth training. And we began what we hope will be a long partnership with EduNations, an evangelistic ministry in Sierra Leone of which Scott Graham is current board president. We’re showing our face in Baton Rouge, across the country and around

the world.

You have a beautiful face, dear church, as it points all four directions!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

How Can I Find Easter Joy?

Posted on: March 21, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

That’s a real question. We get excited for the celebration on Palm Sunday and the joyful services and family gatherings on Easter. We get really busy preparing. But sometimes we may wonder why this holiday does not touch us more deeply. Jesus is risen. Where’s the gladness?

I’d like to suggest a counter-intuitive path to Easter joy. Push more deeply into the passion! The key to Easter is the cross. The ugly, loud, defeating, disgusting crucifixion of Jesus unlocks the vault of resurrection hope. Too often we have skipped from Palm Sunday to Easter without a stop at Golgotha. That cheapens our celebration. But who really wants to press into the most horrible method of punishment yet devised? Besides, the rest of the world barely acknowledges Easter, so games and matches and deadlines steal our attention from Holy Week. That’s not a judgment, just a diagnosis of why Easter joy eludes us so often. Here are 5 ways to follow Christ more closely this

Holy Week.

1) Ponder the Passion. Read the accounts of Jesus’ agony in the Garden, his arrest, scourging, trial, crucifixion and burial. Spend ten minutes a day with one of the gospels open to these accounts. Visualize. Feel. Pray with Jesus in his suffering. You might even want to check out my article “Break the Hardness in Me” going live April 4 at desiringgod.org.

2) Spend Time in Week Six of “Come and See.” Days 36 to 42 will take you to the drama of Jesus’ final day and the release of his rising. Whatever you might have missed along the way, this Holy Week engage week six with your full attention.

3) Attend the Service of Shadows. On Holy Thursday, April 6 at 7 pm, we will move through the passion story with a feast of visual, musical and spoken offerings. We’ll stop along the way to the cross to ponder six magnificent paintings, vividly displayed on our high definition screens. We’ll have communion, extinguish candles and conclude quietly at the garden tomb. Together, we can viscerally experience the passion at a new level.

4) Curate Your Own Set of Images, Essays, Poems and Reflections on the Meaning of Jesus’ Passion. Google or Bing are amazing tools for mining the treasure of Christian art, literature and theology. The more you try searches such as “the thief on the cross” or “why they gave Jesus vinegar on the cross,” the better you will get at excavating jewels of our faith.

5) Change Your Rhythm. Skip something during Holy Week. Reduce your schedule. Get up a half hour early. Take a walk with one phrase of Scripture to ponder. Read passages with your family. Watch The Chosen. Fast for a meal. Invite someone to talk about the cross with you.

We have an immense storehouse of grace. But accessing it doesn’t just happen. We press into the passion, with all the emotional, spiritual and intellectual effort it takes. Then, only then, does the release of joy on Easter become ours.

So glad to be on this journey with you,

Gerrit

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

The Strange Way the Gospels Are Written

Posted on: February 28, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

How brilliant is our God! The LORD inspired the 150 songs that are the psalms. But God didn’t give us any tunes! Great lyrics. But we get to make up the tunes. So the psalms continue to inspire music across cultures and centuries.

The Holy Spirit inspired four views of the life of Jesus in the gospels. Each corroborates the other. Each is unique. But have you noticed a quality all the gospel stories share? They never tell us how to feel. They rarely tell us explicitly how Jesus felt. Or how the characters felt. The gospels give us the bare bones of the events. The essential words but not all the words. The borders of the story but not every detail of the occurrence.

That’s a lot like giving the song lyrics without the tunes. The gospel stories invite. No, actually they demand, that we fill them in. That’s part of what makes them so compelling. They leave room for us. They pull us into the narrative. We get to consider how people felt and when we might feel the same. We get to identify the conflicts, the hopes, the change, the point. There’s nothing quite like the gospels as literature in all the world.

But then, that’s not surprising, since the triune God himself inspired the many writers of Scripture to speak with unified but unique voices across centuries.

As you read in John this Lent, take some time to think about the literary wonder you’re encountering. Recall just how amazing it is that the Spirit continues to speak through the ancient word a unique and personal word to you—to you!

Volunteer to Bag Food for the Needy

The Christian Outreach Center (1427 Main St.) would love volunteers to help bag food for the needy each Wednesday between 8.30 am and noon. Sign up by using the volunteer form at christianoutreachbr.com. Please type "bagging" in the notes section before you submit. You will be contacted regarding scheduling and details.

Gardere School Art Gallery Walk

Please join us Sunday, March 19 for our Gardere School Gallery Walk. Our beloved Gardere students will be sharing over 100 pieces of their finest work. The Gallery Walk will be held in the Reception Room and up for display throughout the day. Light snacks and beverages will be provided that morning. We look forward to having you! Don’t forget to welcome the children and their families in worship!

Spring Cleaning

Now is a great time to donate furniture, clothing and housewares to the Purple Cow. These thrift stores provide significant funding for the Christian Outreach Center, one of our core ministry partners. The COC assists walk-in visitors, leads job training workshops and teaches financial literacy. The COC offers a hand up, not just a hand out!

It’s joy to be pursuing Jesus together during Lent, and as ever I love being your pastor!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

The Power of Together

Posted on: January 31, 2023
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Do you remember our talk last summer? I know you don’t. Because it occurred inside my head and heart. I spent about three months in a near constant conversation with three partners: you, the people I met in the Gospel of John, and Jesus. I had one ear cocked to listen to what the characters in the stories were experiencing. I had another ear turned toward your lives. I lifted both up to Jesus. Then I considered deeply his replies to the people in the passages, as if they were for you as well. That’s how this year’s Lent book, Come and See, got forged.

Engaging Scripture is always better together. When the Son of God came to us as Jesus, he entered conversation with us. He didn’t just lecture. He asked questions and replied to questions. Christ’s teaching occurs in relationship. In the midst of ordinary daily life. And amidst the yearnings, needs, wounds and wanderings of the human heart that stay constant across the changes of centuries and cultures.

The wonder of the Bible is that we can enter into these conversations Jesus had and discover how they include us! When we make the heart connection with the characters, the stories go from being weird, distant events, to urgently relevant for us. That’s what we’re after in our 100 days in John, and especially during Lent.

For as we pray and read these stories daily, it makes a huge difference to me to know that many hundreds of fellow believers are engaging at the same time. It motivates me not to skip. It encourages me to pray for my fellow questors for Christ. It gives me warm joy to know we’re all connecting to Jesus together.

That’s why we try to platform Come and See in multiple ways. We’ll be giving out the physical book (with wonderful full color art!) February 19 and the Sundays thereafter. We can also send daily emails (subscribe here). People can find the readings, prayers and art on our website and via our app. Wherever you are in the world, you can stay connected to each and all of us.

And, of course, joining a small group means your individual meditations can be enriched by interaction with others. When we verbalize our response to Scripture and listen to others verbalize their responses, we get threaded into the conversation more deeply. All of that gives us a wonderful unity on Sundays when we are worshiping through the lens of what Jesus has revealed in these stories.

I can’t wait for the conversations I had in my head and through my keyboard to become live interactions with you, beloved congregation! Plan now to grab a book (or call us if you’re homebound), sign up for the emails, and get connected to a small group. And do consider with whom you could share a copy of Come and See with an invitation to join us in this quest to know Christ more.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

100 Days in John!

Posted on: December 21, 2022
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

New Year’s Opportunity: Let’s take a plunge into the beautiful, mystical, poignant, Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John. No book explores more fully the identity of Jesus as the God who became man. What fascinated me in preparing this study was how much insight into Christ is conveyed through the conversations he had. Jesus revealed his identity through his real interactions with ordinary people. In many cases, Jesus prompted our questions, enticing us to go deeper. The more we contemplate these conversations, the more intrigued with the Lord we become.

I hope you’ll read through the Gospel of John as we start the messages January 8 with Christ’s first miracle recorded in John 2 as part of a conversation he had with his mom. When we get to Lent in mid-February, we’ll have a beautiful new guide called Come and See that will take us daily through the questions people asked Jesus.

Stay-Treat February 3-4: Five Mysteries in John

John’s Gospel gives us titles for Jesus found nowhere else. These simple words contain ocean depths of meaning. They are mysteries made known. Secrets that are open. Easily understood on one level, intriguing for a lifetime of exploration at deeper levels. There’s great stuff in John that we can’t get to in the Sunday messages.

So we’re hosting a stay-treat; time set apart for focused study, worship and fellowship where you still get to sleep in your own bed! Friday night includes delicious dinner, presentations and wonderful dessert. Saturday morning includes a light breakfast and three exciting presentations. There’s even a kids track!

The five mysteries include The Word, The Footwasher, The Vine, The Helper and the Triune Gift. Presenters to be revealed. But I can tell you this. They’ll be scintillating! Mark your calendar today!

Ministry Grants

Your elders distributed over $79,000 in grants to seminary students and ministry partners this past fall. Thanks to the generous distributions from our church Foundation, we are able twice a year to fuel mission over and above our usual programs. Seminary student Noah Pourciau received a grant. So did Abounding Love Church. Front Yard bikes teaches at-risk students how to repair bikes as a way to learn work skills and life skills, as the gospel comes wrapped in the work. We’re contributing to a program to support fathers in North Baton Rouge, a mission which brings The Jesus Film by motorcycle into remote parts of Africa, and an EPC church on the Mexican border that is creating a sanctuary. Rejoice in the bounty your church gets to spread around the world!

It’s my abiding pleasure to walk shoulder to shoulder with you through a life spent seeking to know, worship and serve our lovely Savior.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Can You Get Along without Giving?

Posted on: September 28, 2022
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

I think I tried that one summer in my early 20’s. I lived like a tick, consuming goods and services and kindnesses but giving almost nothing back. Like some potentate of old, my attitude was, “I must be amused!” Worst weeks of my life. All take and no give is not a path to abundance but misery.

Just a few seconds of thought would have led me better. You can’t keep taking in oxygen and not give back any carbon dioxide. You can’t keep eating if your gastro system is not processing. Of course we can’t have relationships that are only one-sided. Not with family, friends, coworkers or the Triune God. We are built for exchange. To receive and to give. In fact, the longer I live, the more I realize that satisfaction—happiness--actually depends on giving more of myself than I am naturally inclined. Holding back, hedging bets, staying safe leads to isolation, fear and loneliness. Sacrifice leads to joy.

Now, I am a hedonist. I want pleasure. I want the best life. How wild it’s been to learn that such fullness comes from self-emptying. So, because I love you, I have no hesitancy in encouraging generosity in our members. Often, what’s missing in our relationship to Christ is not another Bible study, but another tangible step outwards.

Giving back a significant portion of our income to God is an inescapable part of a robust life in Christ. So I love to see your generosity every stewardship season. I think I could make a good case that your church is busy about Christ’s work in this world. And that means there are always opportunity to give service to Jesus and his little ones:

*VineBR. There’s a desperate need for foster families in our community. On Sunday, October 9, an orientation for people considering fostering will be held at Bethany church at 2 pm.

*Building Up. Already this year, Bethany Centre has begun a second new classroom in Uganda and the ministry in Medellin Columbia is renovating the home for mothers and young children which we purchased. You’re doing that!

*Gardere and Buchanan. Elementary children at Gardere long for mentors to spend an hour a week with them through our KidsHope program. Students who got behind during COVID need adults to read to them at Buchanan. Hearing books read is essential to learning to read!

*Nursery and Childhood. We always welcome loving volunteers to rock babies and chase toddlers during the worship hours.

*Marriages require the gift of attention, listening and processing. There’s no better marriage seminar than Created for Connection. FPC members even get a 50% discount for the October 21 & 22 session.

*International Friendship Partners welcomes LSU students from around the world; rEcess give families with special needs children a Friday night out; Caring to Love gives hope to those experiencing a crisis pregnancy, and the Christian Outreach Center offers mentors to those learning job and life skills.

We can’t get along without giving and I love to see all the ways you give your hearts to Christ as you serve in your daily lives. No wonder I love being your pastor.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

We Meet over This

Posted on: August 31, 2022
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

When I was very new to pastoral ministry, I got to see Ian McKellan perform his one-man play, Acting Shakespeare. Before he was internationally known as Gandalf and Magneto in movies, McKellan performed all the great Shakespearean roles. This show included excerpts from Hamlet and Macbeth and King Lear, interspersed with comment. At one point, he picked up a script and walked toward the audience. “What happens in theatre is that you and I meet over this. My job is interpret these lines in a way that you can connect to them.” I realized, “That’s it! That’s what happens at church. We meet over the script that is Scripture. As teacher and participants interact over the passage, it comes alive to us.”

Of course this meeting happens (I hope!) during a sermon. It’s not just my talking, but your participation with your thoughts and questions and feelings as we work through the text. My job is to anticipate your questions and name them, to realize my own resistance to these truths and consider how those struggles might be yours too. In that way, though you may not be speaking aloud, you are interacting with the Word along with me. If it works, you leave feeling that the Bible story is indeed your story. And the Spirit has moved your life along according to the sacred script. It’s the coolest!

But this meeting happens so many other ways at church as well. We interact with others around, over and through the Bible and the great narrative of our redemption in Christ. This meets our deep need to be introduced to God.

And also our yearning to be connected to others. Such interaction is the heartbeat of our church.

Think of that when you gather for a home-group meeting over I Peter. Or when you engage Mark’s gospel in this fall’s women’s studies. When you meet with a fellow church member and talk about the Word together. When you’re in Sunday school or Circle, early morning study or talking about the Bible with a Gardere student. These are the life-giving conversations where God himself is our discussion partner!

Faith Driven Entrepreneur Conference

We want to highlight the interaction between our faith in Christ and our work in the business world. And we have an exciting, energizing way to do that! The Faith Driven Entrepreneur Conference will stream live in our Sanctuary Wednesday, September 28 from 9.30 to 3.30. In addition to a stunning array of presenters, lunch will be served and there will be break out groups as we consider what it means to belong to Christ and be engaged in business.

The conference is free when you check out following the instructions:

In your Cart at Checkout, you'll see a grey panel on the right. Under “Promotions,” type in your promo code FPCBR and click the gray checkmark button.

This will be an important day, well worth your time. Contact Hank Mills, Blake Fowler or Darin Travis for more information.

As ever, please know how much I love being your pastor.

Register for the Conference

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Savor Summer

Posted on: May 31, 2022
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Does the arrival of June ever remind you of summers past? Can you still feel the excitement of getting out of school? Or getting ready for a trip to the water? Or playing outside until late? The Irish bard, yes Van Morrison, evokes the season: “Take me way back . . . where you could feel the silence at half past eleven on long summer nights as . . . voices echoed across the river . . . sunny summer afternoons picking apples . . . stopping for ice cream . . . conversation and laughter and music and singing . . . as we carried on dreaming in God.” I hope this summer you get to re-collect your life from the busyness of the year and recollect many memories even as you make new ones.

Your church will be here, joyfully celebrating the Lord’s Day each week. I’ll be preaching the Sundays of June, then hand over the reigns for a few Sundays in July. All that month will be single 10.30 Sanctuary services. Barry will give the Independence Day message. And George Gillam will bring us the Word from his perspective ministering to youth in North Baton Rouge. Our own youth will be off at camps; the children will encounter a Jerusalem marketplace at VBS; and we’ll lead a summer soccer camp with Abounding Love Ministries. On the last Sunday of July, we’ll have a special recognition of those who have been members of our church for fifty years or more. Who will take the prize for longest membership? Don’t miss the crowning of a new longevity winner! After General Assembly in Detroit, I’ll be in North Carolina for a few weeks, and hope to get a lot of work done on the sequel to Asking Jesus for next Lent. But do know that every day I give thanks for the joy of being your pastor,

Further into the World

Your elders have approved $78,400 in grants for seminary students, city ministry and global ministry. This includes helping underwrite a fathering program in North Baton Rouge, a facility for the disabled in Romania and a guest house for missionaries in Malaysia. Through your gifts and our foundation, our reach extends through our city to the world!

July Worship: Single 10.30 am Services

First Presbyterian Church invites you to attend its combined 10.30 am services each Sunday in July. These single services replace our typical worship schedule blending the styles of Classic Reformed, Contemporary and Chapel Communion worship. We encourage you to invite a friend. There will be no Sunday school.

Call for Meeting of the Corporation

On behalf of the church trustees, the session calls for a meeting of the Corporation of the First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge during worship at 10.30 July 31, 2022. The purpose of the meeting is to act on the recommendation that Amanda Vincent be elected as a trustee of the Corporation, and to engage any other matters of the Corporation. (Active members of the congregation are active members of the Corporation. Only those physically present may vote).

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Take the Walk

Posted on: March 30, 2022
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Our theme picture for Asking Jesus this Lent has been Liz Swindle’s beautiful painting of the walk to Emmaus. Each day as we take up a question or a request of Jesus, we’ve had this scene in the background. Would you like to walk with Jesus for a couple of hours talking about the Scriptures? I would!

Every year during Holy Week, Christ’s people try to do just that. We walk closely with him. We retell the epic events asking the Holy Spirit to make them present experiences in our lives. We want to keep watch with Jesus, to let him know our gratitude for all he did to undertake so great a salvation.

And at FPC, we literally take walks with Jesus! On Palm Sunday we process around North Blvd. with palm branches. The children lead us as we declare, “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” We participate in that brief moment when the world recognized its savior. It’s been three years since we’ve been able to close North Blvd. for our procession and the big picnic that follows. To celebrate this return to a great tradition, we’re going to have a massive crawfish boil! Plus, of course, egg hunts, games and hot dogs for the kids and a glorious time as one church.

On Holy Thursday, we take another walk. From the dramatic reading of the passion, we walk from the Sanctuary to the Terraced Garden where the body of Jesus is laid in the tomb. We answer the question as we sing, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” As last year, the music will be richly layered with instruments and voices. We’ll add visuals on our stunning new screens to accompany the readings. And by all means, bring your children. This is a significant opportunity for the drama of the passion to be imprinted on the next generation.

Holy Saturday we don’t walk. We sit. We enter silence. We ponder the meaning of this huge pause, creation’s deep breath, between cross and empty tomb. If Easter joy has become stale to you, the antidote is to push deeper into the darkness of this bleak Sabbath.

Easter Morning we make our way to the Terraced Garden at first light, rejoicing to see the stone rolled away and declaring the news at the heart of the gospel, an announcement that has been reverberating throughout the cosmos: The Lord is risen! Breakfast in the Garden follows sunrise service before two glorious festival services of worship light up our sanctuary.

Come take the walks with us! Don’t let anything stop you or your family. Not sports, not entertainments, not tiredness, not taxes, not doubt, not fear. There is no more important news in all of human history than what the church proclaims in Holy Week. Compared to this, nothing else matters. Let’s walk with Jesus!

Further Details About Holy Week Worship

Energizing Marriage Seminar. FPC will host Pete and Dee Adams leading a Created for Connection seminar for married couples, Friday evening, April 29 through Saturday afternoon April 30. Past participants describe the weekend as “enlightening, encouraging, revealing, hopeful, powerful, safe, loving and renewing.” Rhonda and I still reap the benefits from attending two years ago. Sign up at createdforconnectionbr.org. And here’s a little more incentive: for FPC church members, we will cover 50% of the cost! Just email Jaci Gaspard (jaci@fpcbr.org) to let us know you’re attending.

Register for the Workshop

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Say Whaaaaaat?!

Posted on: February 22, 2022
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Have you ever thought about what kinds of things people asked Jesus? They made all kinds of requests. They had all kinds of questions. Pharisees, demons, disciples, sick people, rich and poor, seekers and cynics, even Jesus’ own mother and the devil himself made asks. Some tried to deflect him from his mission; some just needed mercy. As a reader, I’ve thought with surprise, “I can’t believe you just asked that!” Many times, of course, there was a question within the question. There was another layer of meaning beneath the surface. Jesus always answered the deeper need. He always addressed the true motive. And his replies always opened a way for transformation.

I had not spent much time thinking about this gospel category of requests and replies. But once I did, I felt like I encountered Jesus in a fresh, compelling way. I’m very excited that you will soon receive Asking Jesus, our 2022 Lent book. You’ll be invited to join me in exploring 42 requests made of Jesus. I predict you will discover that many of these questions are your questions. You’ll realize, as I did, that we make all these same requests today. So Jesus’ replies relate directly to our lives. This Lent, we’ll be able to meet Jesus again, but as if for the first time. All in about 20 minutes a day during the season of Lent.

Once again, your elders and deacons will be hand delivering your books. (Those who live outside the metro area will have their book mailed. If we miss you, please let us know!). There will also be extra copies at the church. Day One is Sunday, March 6, and our sermons will be related to our readings. You can also get connected to a home group to take your explorations even further. And, of course, you can sign up to receive the daily readings sent to you (or 1000 of your friends) by email. Click here to subscribe.

I love to keep Lent with you by intensifying our focus on our loving, saving Lord. Further up and further in dear flock!

Welcome Emily Viguerie!

On March 7, Emily Petty Viguerie will begin as our Director of Community Life. Emily has been a member of FPC since joining with her family in 2007. She graduated from Dunham and then LSU. Last year she married Russ Viguerie. She has been active in a women’s Bible study for 20-somethings, and brings a love for Christ, for people and for the ministry of our church. We’re thrilled to find someone who knows our church culture and brings fresh energy for welcoming new members and connecting long-time members.

More about Emily

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

You Comin'?

Posted on: January 5, 2022
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Michael Jackson’s first hit was called “I Want You Back.” That’s my heart for 2022. I want to see our Sanctuary filled again on a regular basis. Re-building the church is a key priority.

Across the nation, a Barna survey reported in November that in-person church attendance is down 30% to 50% from pre-COVID numbers. Even with vaccinations and the easing of restrictions. That’s across the nation. Now we’re an exceptional church in many ways, so our attendance is on the good end of that statistic. But we’re still down. And I want you back!

Of course, surges in COVID from breakthrough variants have made all interaction risky; especially for people in groups at a higher risk for dire complications. We get that. Health conditions and age-factors are real concerns. And it never seems to stop: Omicron has swept through the world and it will be another several weeks until it begins to dissipate.

But virus avoidance has not been the only factor! The most common reason is that we just got used to “watching” at home. Or staying home and not watching. Isolation became comfortable. Getting up, dressed and out became a chore. Discovering all the other things there are to do on a Sunday morning became enjoyable. And we seemed to get along just fine without attending.

For church leadership, two ways to address this loss are open to us. One is to try to win the church by enticing consumers to make a consumer choice. “Come to church. It’s great! It’s a better experience to be in a live audience. We’ve got new screens. We’ve got amazing music. The nursery is clean and safe. Among all your choices, choose us!” Yes, we could go that route. And I think I could make a pretty good pitch for the “product” we offer.

But the other route seems deeper, more Biblical and ultimately more compelling. We need to work on our ecclesiology. That’s a big word that just means what we think about what the church is. In other words, why does God summon his people to praise him as living stones joined together rather than just as individuals? What makes a church as the body of Christ different than any other voluntary organization? How passionate is Jesus about the faithfulness of his bride, the church? And how interconnected is the gathered worship of the church to the effectiveness of the mission of the church?

We’ll be talking about that in 2022. Not guilt, but challenge. Not advertisement, but inspiration. Not fluff, but substance. I want you back. More importantly, Christ wants you back! You comin’?

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

O. . . O. . . O. . . Merry Christmas!

Posted on: November 30, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Of all the prayers made in all the world, not very many get recorded. And almost all of the prayers written down are buried or lost within a few years. The sift of history is both brutal and clarifying. Only a few prayers survive in use for centuries.

This Advent, we’re looking at seven of those survivors. The “O Prayers” will guide our preparation for Christmas. They’re so named because each starts with “O,” followed by a title for Christ found in the Old Testament. These seven names for Jesus tap into our deepest human longings. We all yearn for the key, wait for the dawn, ache to know the root and source of our life, and desperately hope that God is with us. We’ll be exploring the Scriptures underlying these prayers in preaching, music, visual art and daily readings. You’ll be amazed how relevant prayers from the 6th century are to daily life in the 21st!

So, be sure to pick up a copy of your Advent reading guide. This will lead you through the Scriptures that inspired the “O Prayers,” as well as give you the prayers themselves, poems based on these prayers by our friend Malcolm Guite, and the words to the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Also, mark your calendars for the Christmas cantata December 19. It’s a commissioned work based on—wait for it—the O Prayers! Also, several artists in our church have contributed artwork inspired by these prayers. This will take us to Christmas Eve where I’ll be preaching at 11 am, 4 pm and 6 pm on what it means that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. I love to do Christmas with you, dear congregation, and I’m so thankful we can be fully back in our beloved Sanctuary.

Astounded

Your response to both the Building Up campaign for mission and the 2022 stewardship has been astounding. You move me deeply with the faith that leads to such generosity. These ties between our church and key mission partners will nourish our faith for years to come. I can’t wait to share the numbers with you once all the pledges are in. Meanwhile, we will surge into the work of the church for 2022, riding on God’s leading and your dedication. Thank you for loving your Lord so well through your church!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Just Return It!

Posted on: October 27, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

My mother was the queen of returning things. No receipt? No problem! No original packaging? Perfectly fine! My mother loved to shop. The merchants loved my mother. She enjoyed an ongoing relationship with them. Her loyalty and frequency gave her license to make returns as desired. Returning is part of trusted commerce.

We can apply this to our relationship to God! The psalmist asked “What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me (Psalm 116: 12)?" He had been in an exchange with God. Life had turned dire. The psalmist had cried out to the God who made him. The Lord answered with deliverance from death and an abundance of mercy. So the writer wanted to make an offering of thanks. He wanted to return, to reply to God in grateful acknowledgement. So we can say it again, with a spiritual twist: Returning is part of trusted commerce.

As Christ’s people, we live in the economy of his love. He continues to do miraculous business with us. He trades forgiveness for our sins. He swaps his peace for our anxiety. He exchanges everlasting life for our mortality. This commerce is so miraculous, we joyfully want to respond! To return thanks. To give back. To live as he directs so he will be pleased.

In this season of thanksgiving, we lift the festive cup in holy communion. We “cheers” the Lord who has given us nothing less than himself. We set aside a special day for gratitude. In days when we lived closer to the land, such a day was set between harvest time and the arrival of winter. Once “all was safely gathered in,” it was time to bless the Giver.

That’s why I find spiritual significance in making the dedication of our gifts to God in this season. Grateful for his provision in the year that is finishing, we trust his bounty to come in the New Year. We make a thankful return, putting financial gifts to God’s work together with our prayers of gratitude. We mirror our God’s generous overflowing heart.

Every November we do this as we make commitments to Christ’s work through our church for the following year.

This year, we can step further into that deep joy through the Building Up campaign. To give, over and above our usual pledges, out toward others, when there is no visible return to our church—that will launch us into the wonder of God’s wondrous commerce. The spiritual return we will receive will be full of love, connection, participation and hope. November 14 is Dedication Sunday. I hope we will swell the House for this joyful celebration. Your elders are passionate about making this return. I know that, having made my pledge already, I am only more thankful to be your pastor,

Gerrit

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Click the Link!

Posted on: September 28, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

I know that I’ve rotted my brain through an overload of internet information. But it’s just so fun to follow one idea to the next! Don’t you love it when there’s a handy link to the next topic you want to know about? I marvel at how interconnected all knowledge is, if you just know how to make the links.

But I really shouldn’t be surprised. The Triune God made all there is. He made the universe with interconnections that hold at the deepest level. The more we know, the more we find there is to explore, and the more we explore, the more beautiful the cosmos is revealed to be. For creation reflects the beauty of the Mind of the Maker.

In Scripture, we see that the Holy Spirit is the great connector. He is the link. By the Holy Spirit, Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary. The Spirit linked up the Son of God with our humanity. The Triune God clicked the link at Christmas! By the Spirit, faith is conceived inside someone who hears the gospel. The Spirit links up the Son of God to particular believers. We click the link of faith and get joined to Jesus. By the Spirit, all believers are linked to each other. We share “one body and one Spirit . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4: 4-5). We click the link of awareness to this Biblical truth and suddenly we are no longer alone. We are in fellowship with believers across continents, cultures and even centuries!

How do we click the link that makes us aware of how linked in all Christians are? 1) We read, trust and contemplate the truth of our communion from Scripture. 2) We pray knowing we join our voices with “the great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12: 1) who praise Jesus. We also pray for these other believers, thanking God for them and asking him to sustain and grow Christian communities wherever they are. 3) We engage in mission with other Christians. That’s the great value in short term mission trips. We begin to see the beautiful reality of the world church. We realize we are part of one great Mission.

And of course, that’s the spiritual beauty of our Building Up campaign. While none of the money goes directly to our church, the benefits to our community of Christ are manifold! Having made and started to pay our pledge, already Rhonda and I feel like we are closer to Brian Miller in Medellin. The prayer keychain made by the women at Esther’s House just breaks my heart with gratitude for that mission. I feel more connected to the work at Gardere. I feel more joyful over Peter’s school in Uganda. I believe Ben when he says Church of the Resurrection gives regular thanks for us.

I know that Building Up: Taking Missions to the Next Level is not about us. But O do we get a great benefit! When we click the link to the pledge tab on our website, we click the link to joyful connection to what God is doing around the world. The one Spirit joins us to all believers engaged in Jesus’ one mission. It’s a powerful joy!

Kirkin’ Time October 31

Wear your plaids, your kilts and your tweeds as we celebrate the Scottish roots of our Presbyterian faith on Reformation Sunday with one 10 am service October 31. We'll also have our fall congregational meeting to vote on the slate of new elders and deacons presented by the Nominating Committee. After worship, all are invited to enjoy brunch (love offering will be taken). Face painting, a balloon artist and games will be offered for the children. Registration not required.

Clan Tartans for the Kirkin’

We want your clan’s tartan to be represented in the Sanctuary at the annual Kirkin’ O’ the Tartans. Contact Jaci Gaspard to see about including yours (jaci@fpcbr.org or 620.0221).

I’m so grateful to be in mission with you, and even more so, I love being your pastor,

Gerrit

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Look Out!

Posted on: August 31, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

As we go to press with the September newsletter, Ida has passed through. Donations can be made to FPC Hurricane Relief using the button below. Call the office to volunteer for clean-up teams.

Where are we going as a church? That’s always a relevant question. The answer, if we are faithful, is always some form of “in and out.” We’re pressing into the person and events of Jesus. We’re pushing out with his gospel to the world. Same old mission. Always and forever! But every season, if a church has energy and passion, that answer expresses itself in fresh ways.

This fall, we’re pressing in through a worship focus on Paul’s first letter to the young church in the Greek town of Thessalonica. It’s a beautiful, heartfelt message of encouragement. In Sunday school, two of our adult classes are studying Gospels: Mark and John. Our children and parents will be receiving copies of The Gospel Story Bible and their classes will focus on learning the big story of the Triune God’s redeeming work. The women’s studies will take up Esther; youth will study Gospel Foundations in Sunday School and Hebrews in midweek studies. Confirmation students study the Greatest Bible Stories of all time. Do you see a pattern here? We’re questing to meet Christ through Scripture all over the place. Meanwhile we interweave all of that with prayer and care for one another.

But I think you’ll notice most a ramping up of our looking out. Every week as part of worship, we will hear from our ministry and mission partners. We’ll hear ways to participate, whether it’s mentoring students, encouraging teachers, hosting international students or working with us on our seventh (!) Habitat House. That’s right, once more our church will work side by side with a new homeowner to construct a dwelling. Terrence Carter is a stroke survivor, the father of two sons, and a man of faith eager to partner with us. That all begins at the end of the month.

We’ll also introduce our first capital campaign in over a decade. Only it’s not to raise funds for us. We will be seeking to raise $1.5 million for building projects for four key mission partners. Imagine a whole over and above campaign to advance the gospel beyond us: an expansion at Gardere Christian School, a cottage for young women rescued from sex trafficking in Medellin, a high school and dorms in Uganda, helping Church of the Resurrection purchase a permanent site in New Orleans. We’ll be hearing lots more about the Building Up campaign in the coming weeks. I’m thrilled we’re daring to dream of investing so significantly in mission beyond our walls. I love to be on this journey with you, both “in” toward Christ and “out” to the world!

Hurricane Relief Donations

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

The Deeper Challenge in Cancel Culture

Posted on: July 30, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

The strife is everywhere. Between friends. Between family members. Between generations. A great divide seems to have opened up. Everything seems political. Everything seems to be about race. Everyone is always offended. We hate the conflict but don’t really even understand it. What’s going on?

The church of Jesus faces particular challenges. We know we are sent to the most difficult and desperate people and places with the gospel of Christ. We know Jesus loved the outcast and challenged the powerful. We resonate with the yearning for equality. Yet we feel that something is amiss in the demands for justice that want to deconstruct the way we’ve always lived. It’s hard to sort out Christian compassion from “woke” compulsion.

The mission of the church remains the same: to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth, to regard everyone in the loving light of Christ. Yet we face increasing hostility. In fact, we face competition. There is a worldview competing with us for adherents. A religion that wants to replace us. It’s a religion of harsh legalism and burning urgency that demands total allegiance. It’s a promise of an earthly utopia that has no blue print except dismantling structures deemed oppressive. It resists being identified and wants everyone to view the world through its lens as the “normal” way of seeing.

Call it cancel culture, cultural Marxism, woke theology, or simply “justice, equity and diversity.” Whatever the label, it has a source. The technical name is Critical Theory. Christians of all ages need to understand the view of the world that underlies so much of today’s discussions. We need to be able to grasp what’s being said in order to evaluate if it’s really compatible with the gospel.

Our “Stay-Treat” on August 20-21 will feature three dynamic

presentations by an expert in Critical Theory. Dr. Neil Shenvi brings the rigor of his background in theoretical chemistry along with his unique ability to present complex issues clearly. You can read more about Neil at shenviapologetics.com.

Please plan to join us. And bring a car load! We can’t afford not to understand what’s going on in our current cultural conversations.

The Deeper Challenge in Cancel Culture

First Presbyterian Stay-Treat, August 20-21

Talk 1: "Critical Social Justice and Christianity: Are They Compatible?"

Talk 2: "Critical Race Theory: A Deep Dive"

Talk 3: "Christianity and Justice: Cautions and Suggestions"

Further Stay-Treat Details

Register for the Stay-Treat

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

The Blessing of New Leadership

Posted on: May 26, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

At the end of last year, the session appointed a search committee to find an Assistant Pastor for Children, Youth and Family Ministry. We wanted to elevate and deepen our ministry to young people. Elder Will Adams led the team, along with Cheryl Broadnax, Ryan Castle, Boyd Greene and Kelly Wood: all of them parents of children and youth. It was a delight to work with them. And we believe the Spirit led us straight to one stellar young man! Colton Underwood is nearing completion of his Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson. The last two years he has been working with youth and families in his internship at First Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City. Colton is originally from Indiana. He fell in love with a pastor’s daughter and married Rachel five years ago. A graduate of Purdue University, Colton is an avid runner, adventurer, scholar and foodie. He is a delightful young man and together he and Rachel make a winsome pair. His vibrant faith, graciousness and personal discipline will energize our pastoral team and congregation. Colton and Rachel arrive in early August to begin working with our children and youth and lead those staff teams. We expect his ordination to the EPC to occur this time next year. Please pray for the Underwoods and get ready to give them a great Baton Rouge welcome.

Baton Rouge Christian Counseling Center

In 1991, we asked Dee Adams to be the founding director and first therapist at our new counseling center. Dee has led this ministry for more than thirty years! BRCCC has served thousands of clients and developed a sparkling reputation in our city. This July, Dee will step aside from directing BRCCC, though she will continue to counsel part-time.

After a careful search, the board of the center was led to choose one of our current counselors to lead our center. You’ll know her! Sherry Kadair has been a counselor at BRCCC since 2011 and a member of our church since 2014. Sherry is currently a deacon and serves in both the media and music ministries. Sherry has been married to Howard since 2007. She holds an MA from Denver Theological Seminary and specializes in trauma care. Sherry also has significant experience in the business world and will bring great administrative skills, a cheery spirit, loving heart, warm comradery and a strong sense of the mission of the center and the church. Please pray for her as she steps into the huge role shaped by our founding director.

July 4 falls on a Sunday this year and I’m already at work on a message called “American Privilege: Gospel Imperative.” I hope you’ll be there for this important topic as we begin a month of single services at 10.30. We’ll enjoy some great guests this summer as well with Ben Cunningham from our daughter church, Church of the Resurrection, and Albert White from Abounding Love Ministries. I hope you’ll get some refreshment and precious time with family this summer. We’re looking forward to a few weeks in the mountains, but know that you will always be on our minds and hearts.

I remain delighted to be your pastor,

Gerrit

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Do You???

Posted on: April 29, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

“Do You. . . ?” That’s the question we ask five times to our confirmation students. Just like we do to any new members. They are some heavy questions. Here they are condensed. Do you acknowledge you’re a sinner? Do you believe in Jesus as the Savior of sinners and the Lord of your life? Do you promise to live as a follower of Christ? Do you promise to participate as a member of this church? Do you agree to the oversight of this session? Like I said, big questions about what matters most in life. This Sunday, 30 sixth grade students will answer those questions as the culmination of nine months of study, prayer, discipleship and interaction with elders, pastors and teachers. We’ve approached these questions on multiple levels. Because this is what matters most. Do you want to be all in with Jesus? Pray for them this Sunday afternoon as they answer a joyful Yes to all these questions!

And now a five pack of notes for this May.

• Last year, the church received a PPP loan from the government to cover us should COVID cause a drop in our revenues. That loan gave us confidence to keep all our Mother’s Day Out teachers on at full pay and to keep all our staff going. But ultimately, we didn’t need it. Because our dear members came through with stunning giving. So last week, we sent it back, with interest. After much deliberation, the session determined that returning these funds was God’s direction for us, an act of trust and freedom.

• The session approved $59,000 in grants, including support for five seminary students, a girls’ dormitory in Uganda and a vehicle for a professor at African Bible College. This is your Foundation at work reaching the world!

• On Mother’s Day, we give thanks for that most important and difficult of jobs: rearing children in love and wisdom. Through natural birth, adoption, fostering, aunting, teaching and mentoring, women have been giving the gifts of motherhood to our community. How grateful we are!

• This summer, opportunities abound for children and youth to go deeper in Christ and further into the world. Camps, mission trips, Vacation Bible School and fun youth activities. Stay tuned for details.

• On Sunday, May 30, we will have one combined worship service at 10.30. In June we’ll continue with three Sunday services before single services return in July.

Isn’t it great to be together again?

As ever, I love being your pastor.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

What Are We Doing About Masks?

Posted on: April 29, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Updated May 14, 2021:

Beginning this Sunday, we are lifting our masking requirement at worship! We trust people to make their own decisions regarding their safety and health in this environment. How grateful we are that the grip of this pandemic is loosening and we can return to worshiping with “unveiled faces.”

April 29, 2021:

Our session has decided to ask worshipers to wear masks through May

23. Why? Well, as Nick Saban might say, it’s about respecting the process.

A significant number of our attendees are still completing the vaccination process. As much as we all want to rip away these annoying coverings and sing out freely, we know that waiting just a bit longer allows anyone who wants to be immunized against COVID to do so. After May 23, we can each make our own personal decisions about attendance and masking.

Hang in there beloved church. Soon, very soon, we’ll be singing with unfettered hearts—and faces! Believe me, I’m longing to see your dear faces when I preach!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Three Great Days . . . Forever!

Posted on: March 29, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

One event across three days. That’s how Christ’s Church came to understand what happened from the Last Supper to Easter morning. This was the Triduum: the three great and holy days when Jesus made his passage through death into resurrection life. Every moment interlocked in meaning and significance.

In Jesus’ time, days began at sunset the night before. So when we gather for the Service of Shadows on Thursday, we’re beginning our remembering of Good Friday. We meditate on his agony in Gethsemane. We retell the story of Jesus’ passion. Then we walk into our terraced garden where the tomb is set up. We sing “Were You There?” as the tomb, along with our hope, is sealed.

On Saturday morning, we listen quietly to psalms Jesus prayed. We enter the silence of the King’s sleep between death and resurrection, his remaining under the power of death all that lonely day. We take a breath between cross and resurrection.

Then on Sunday we begin to meet at first light to rejoice that the stone is rolled away, the Savior is up—risen--having defeated death and opened eternity to us.

With the church across the world and through the ages, during the Triduum, we remember in a special way. The past becomes present. We remember so that what happened then can be part of our spiritual experience this moment. These real events are not lost in dusty history. They are the most potent facts in all of life, right now!

I’ll be preaching Easter morning on “Three Easter Truths You Can’t Live Without!” It’s a great day to bring a neighbor or a friend. At 9 and 11, worship will be live in the Sanctuary and livestreamed to the terrace garden. We’ll have a huge wall of LED screens set up outside with a live worship leader and coming forward for communion. So you can choose, inside or outside! 6.30 sunrise will be just in the garden, with room for over 200, and a light breakfast to follow. I’m so eager to keep Easter in person with you, dear church!

Later this month, we take a pause between sermon series and I will give some topical messages, including “The Questions Graduating Seniors Ask” and “Cultivating Resistant, Resilient and Renovative Christian Community.”

Beloved Pastor Emeritus

Our beloved pastor emeritus, Russ Stevenson and his wife Sherill moved this January to a retirement community in Virginia. We will miss their worshiping in our Sanctuary, but his legacy will never be forgotten. If you’d like to get in touch, the church office has their new address.

August Stay-Treat

I’m truly energized that Christian apologist, Dr. Neil Shenvi has agreed to conduct a stay-treat for us in August. A theoretical chemist by profession and theologian by avocation, Dr. Shenvi contends for our faith with remarkable clarity. He will give three presentations taking us through the current debate on what makes for Biblical justice, exposing the fallacies of critical theory while challenging us to do the work of gospel reconciliation. Take a Google at him and get excited!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Haven't You Missed It????

Posted on: February 24, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Palm Sunday. Easter Morning. Service of Shadows. It was so weird to lead those services looking into the lens of an iPhone. But this year we’re back! Palm Sunday is March 28. We plan to use the main parking lot for an outdoor service with palms and a procession of children. 10 am service, followed by egg hunts and a balloon artist for children in the garden areas and light snacks for the rest of us.

On Easter morning, April 4, we plan to use the terraced garden to its full capacity. First for the Sunrise service at 6.30 am. This will be a complete worship service including communion and then biscuits and coffee to follow. At 9 am, the festive service will be in the Sanctuary but also livestreamed to the terraced garden! Same at 11. No tickets or reservations. Come to the Sanctuary for “live” worship, come to the garden for “livestreamed” and overflow.

Holy Thursday will return April 1 at 7 pm with the Service of Shadows in the Sanctuary followed by a visit to the tomb in the garden. And we will keep the eerie reflection of Holy Saturday on April 3 at 11 am in the Sanctuary. How sweet it will be to be back!

Your elders recently spent a weekend retreat considering what it means to cultivate resistant, resilient and renovative Christian community. We all read Rod Dreher’s book Live Not by Lies in preparation. The book identifies our excessive focus on individualism and personal comfort as well as the rise of cultural Marxism as two key factors diminishing the church. Bouncing from that work, our task was to consider how reclaiming Christ-centered distinction not only protects the church but makes us better at reaching our community. We noted the importance of learning to recognize the worldviews which shape people and what makes the Christian worldview distinct and generative. Twelve different small groups then met to consider specific ideas for our church in areas such as discipleship, worship, children’s ministry and reaching the business community. I’m looking forward to doing a vision sermon based on this retreat April 18.

Meanwhile, what a joy it is to be reading these Scriptures about being “in Christ” with you. I’m finding them nourishing and challenging all over again. Best of all, we’re praying and reading together, wherever we are, one body of Christ. No wonder I love being your pastor,

Gerrit

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

You're Weird!

Posted on: January 28, 2021
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

You're weird! Not like everybody else. Unique in the world. Different than most.

After all, what Muslim says “I live in Mohammed?” What practicing Buddhist says, “I spoke with Siddhartha this morning?” What existentialist says “I am in organic union with Camus?” What atheist says “I have a mystical link to Richard Dawkins?” But you say all those things about Jesus! We Christians are “in Christ.” We speak with the historical founder of our faith personally and presently. His Spirit links us to Jesus and to each other the way parts of a human body are linked to the whole. That’s weird—if you’re on the outside looking in. But such wonder is normal for those who have been joined to Jesus.

This Lent, we’re going to explore what it means that our truest home is Jesus himself. We’re going to pursue the mystery of what Paul meant by being “in Christ.” We’ll see how living in Christ and from Christ lights up everything in our lives. John Calvin called it a “mystical union” and declared it to be of highest importance to our faith.

Honestly, engaging in this study will change your life. Like discovering priceless treasure you hadn’t known you possessed. Like tapping into an endless supply of energy. Like coming home. Like finally living in Reality. We’ll be drawing from more than 85 Scriptures as well as the writings of experienced spiritual masters such as James Stewart and Andrew Murray. We’re questing for the very heart of Christian experience. We’re going to claim our distinctive faith. Yep, we’re weird. Gloriously, joyfully so!

The week of February 14, your elders, deacons and pastors will be bringing your Lent books to your house! It’s a quick, safe drop off. But we wanted to be sure, in these COVID times, that every member gets a copy before February 21 when the daily readings begin. You can get extra copies at church and also sign up for daily emails. Smaller, well-distanced 6 week home groups will also begin. We hope participating with others will help to reknit our congregation after so long apart.

I’m so eager to join you on this journey deeper into Christ our true home!

Sign Up for Daily Emails

Assistant Pastor Search

We have begun the search for a pastor for children, youth and families. Please pray for God to guide us and bring the right person to this crucial position. Also, feel free to refer suggestions to elder Will Adams. The search committee would like to hear from parents about what they think is important in this role and what qualities we should look for in candidates. To that end, we’ll be hosting two Zoom calls. Monday evening, February 8 at 7 pm and Tuesday morning, February 9 at 11 am. We’ll send parents an invitation by email soon.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Looking Upward, Reaching Outward: 2021

Posted on: December 31, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

We made it! 2020 is no more. If only turning the calendar would automatically restore the world. Change is coming, we know that. We have high hopes that the Covid vaccine will dramatically limit the virus. But will we ever go back to “normal?” A new presidential administration will certainly be different. Will it be good for the people of Christ who hold to our historical values? The tension about race and equality will tighten. Will it resolve in more harmony? It’s a new year and I’m daunted by the challenges already!

Thankfully, the church of Jesus does not retreat when the future seems uncertain. Your leadership certainly hasn’t. We are deeply committed to proclaiming the ancient gospel in a way that addresses the concerns of these times. We believe our highest purpose is public worship of the Triune God in word, song and prayer. We have good tidings to make known, a Lord to glorify and love to share. On January 24, you will hear our new officers take their ordination vows, committing themselves to the Lord Jesus, to his Word and to the work of his church. I’ve read their testimonies and heard their faith: you will be so moved by this upward call!

The session recently made commitments to direct nearly a million dollars over the next three years to fund our mission priorities. We are blessed to have endowment income through the McLaurin Trust and the church Foundation. Our policy is to never use such funds for the general mission, ministry and operation of the church: that’s the joyful job of current members. Rather, we push endowment income outward. So, we intend to support Gardere Community Christian School with $100,000 a year. We purpose to give $100,000 yearly to church planting, including $75,000 annually to the Church of the Resurrection, our thriving daughter church in New Orleans. And we plan on designating $125,000 a year for the Session Income Allocation Committee which makes recommendations for funding future leaders going to seminary as well as supporting other missions in our community. We’re determined to reach outward.

Meanwhile, your faith, participation and funding energizes the daily work of the church. Our partnerships with 30 local ministries continue to flourish (We’ve got a Habitat House to build in 2021!). And our members increasingly enter the mission field of their lives (whatever they are doing) with an awareness that they are Christ’s ambassadors in word and deed. A stellar staff team leads ministry with and to every age as we press into Christ and his Word. In fact, we want to raise the level of our commitment to children, youth and their families. The session recently approved a search for an Associate Pastor to energize and oversee that work.

By God’s grace and in the Spirit’s power, we’re propelling forward, dear church. We know how important it is that we hold tight to one another, sharing life in all its joys and pains as only a community of Christ can. I’m so glad to be traveling with you!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

A Christmas to Remember and a Year to Forget!

Posted on: November 18, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Ever since I was old enough to understand the concept, I’ve been sad when one year passes to another. But this year, well, I’m ready to be done with 2020! We’ve seen a ridiculous amount of upheavals followed by more upheavals. Fresh start, please!

Thankfully, Christmas is coming. I’ll be pining for standing room only packed out live nativities and Christmas Eve services. But we can’t do any sardining now! Still, we’ve had our creative caps on trying to figure out how we can get all the people who want to keep Christmas with us attending in a safe way. Details are to follow, but we’re deep into exploring having outdoor services run concurrently with indoor services! Including one with animals! We’re considering implementing a ticket system so we don’t have to turn people away, but can offer folks a seat at that the service they choose in the venue they choose with good distancing. Yes, it’s going to be different. But when I think about being in the terraced garden, with a fire blazing in the fireplace, bundled up and raising our candles in the dark, it sounds pretty Christmassy to me! Pray for your elders ands staff as we make decisions, and watch our website and bulletins for more details.

Our December sermons will be built around Lost Verses of Famous Carols. We had a lot of fun several years ago uncovering seldom sung lyrics in beloved Christmas songs. Well, we’ve found some more little known words from O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing. So we not only get to sing these great carols, we get to dive deep into their content.

I’m very excited about the new advent calendar that’s been created for our daily readings during this sacred month. Beautifully designed by Katie Robinson, Katie Forsthoff and Mitzi Barber, the readings are coordinated with our sermons and include lovely breath prayers to take you deeper.

Meanwhile, we look forward to a special Sunday of music on December 13. The worship team and chancel choir will combine with an orchestra to present “Hail the Blessed Morn,” a program highlighting the rich musical tradition we have at our church through Christmas favorites.

Movies You’re Not Supposed to See

Tired of formulaic Christmas movies? Want to think more deeply about what’s going on in our society? I have three movies for you that challenge the status quo. Each is disturbing, provocative and rousing. I believe you can’t not view these films as part of the ongoing dialogue in our culture. Each one makes a well-produced, captivating watch. Unplanned. This is the story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who discovered the economics of the abortion industry, the dehumanization of women clients, and the horror of the procedures. Uncle Tom: A Narrative History of Black Conservatism. Prominent African Americans challenge the narrative of dependence. The Social Dilemma. Former creators and executives from Google, Instagram and Facebook warn of the monster they created through the algorithms of manipulation on our favorite media sites. A chilling warning. I’d love to hear how you respond.

Yes, 2020 may be a year to forget, but it only makes me more eager to keep a joyful Christmas with you dear flock!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Introduction to Psalm 31

Posted on: November 16, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Jesus prayed Psalm 31 from the cross. But it contains a lot more than we didn’t hear him quote but is very meaningful to us.

Psalm 31

In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

in your righteousness deliver me!

Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

For you are my rock and my fortress;

and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;

you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

for you are my refuge.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,

but I trust in the LORD.

I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have known the distress of my soul,

and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in a broad place.

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;

my eye is wasted from grief;

my soul and my body also.

For my life is spent with sorrow,

and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my iniquity,

and my bones waste away.

Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,

especially to my neighbors,

and an object of dread to my acquaintances;

those who see me in the street flee from me.

I have been forgotten like one who is dead;

I have become like a broken vessel.

For I hear the whispering of many—

terror on every side!—

as they scheme together against me,

as they plot to take my life.

But I trust in you, O LORD;

I say, “You are my God.”

My times are in your hand;

rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

Make your face shine on your servant;

save me in your steadfast love!

O LORD, let me not be put to shame,

for I call upon you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go silently to Sheol.

Let the lying lips be mute,

which speak insolently against the righteous

in pride and contempt.

Oh, how abundant is your goodness,

which you have stored up for those who fear you

and worked for those who take refuge in you,

in the sight of the children of mankind!

In the cover of your presence you hide them

from the plots of men;

you store them in your shelter

from the strife of tongues.

Blessed be the LORD,

for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me

when I was in a besieged city.

I had said in my alarm,

“I am cut off from your sight.”

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

when I cried to you for help.

Love the LORD, all you his saints!

The LORD preserves the faithful

but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Introduction to Psalm 30

Posted on: November 2, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Make time with the LORD a habit. Meet him at the edge of each day with Psalm 30. Hope comes with the morning, the new light, a new day.

Psalm 30

I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”

By your favor, O LORD,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

To you, O LORD, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
O LORD, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Would I Feel Richer If . . .

Posted on: October 28, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Would I feel richer if I gave away less money? I asked myself that recently. Several annual commitments to mission groups had come due. We set up some college funds for the grandchildren. We sent some other people support. And of course we always make our church gift. Wow, we just got paid and it’s almost gone! What happened to the going-out-to-dinner money? And the new fall clothes allowance? I mean, what if we just stopped giving so much away? Would we be happier? Would it feel like my bank account was bigger?

I thought hard about that. I tried on the possibility that I’d feel fuller if I had more cash staying home. For a second, it thrilled me. Man we could have some big fun! In another second, it scared me. Would I ever risk going back to not tithing? I recalled the weight of being responsible for finances without God. I shuddered remembering when the balance of our spending was weighted toward doing what we wanted to do. Burdened on the outside, thin on the inside. That’s how I felt in those years.

Then I thought about what it means to be invested in our church. To know we’re running in our lane, shoulder to shoulder with the remarkably committed believers here. If we weren’t prioritizing our church, I’d feel like a pretender in front of you. Instead, I know this is our family of faith. I fill up inside thinking of all our church is and does. And suddenly I feel humbled, even thankful that we get to contribute. That’s the word: we get to. And if we didn’t, I’d feel diminished, shut out, longing to find a tangible way to declare, “We’re in! We’re in with you.”

I thought about other ministries we love. And that’s the word: love. Our family loves Gardere, Dunham, Caring to Love, the Magruders and others. If we didn’t give, we’d have more money. But less love. Which means less joy.

I also realized how much I value living in the flow of God’s blessing love. He pours in, and in reply we try to pour out, responsibly but proportionally. If we just kept it, like a dammed up pond, we’d stagnate spiritually, emotionally and even financially. We wouldn’t be as thankful, we wouldn’t feel God’s care as much, and I’m pretty sure, even if we had more dollars for a while, we’d feel not rich but poor.

Lesson learned for your pastor! I peered over the edge and realized, in my gut, what a joy it is to get to give.

Estimate of Giving Link

Foto Sisters to Join Us for Service of Healing and Hope

As the holidays approach, the sadness of loss also rises. Many of us bear the pain of having lost very young children. Perhaps through miscarriage, through accidents or infant illnesses, through abortion or still birth. The sorrow remains. And our church would like to offer a tender touch. Sunday afternoon, November 8 at 4 pm in the Sanctuary, we will have a memorial service of healing and hope. The Foto Sisters will lead our music. God has used them to bring a unique healing touch to people all over the country. Please free to invite others from outside our church to join us for this quiet, prayerful hour.

Abby Johnson to Speak

This year’s annual Caring to Love banquet features Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood executive whose views transformed the day she assisted an abortion. Now a Christian and ardent defender of life, Abby’s story was told in the feature film Unplanned and the book by the same name. Tickets are available online at ctlm.org. First Presbyterian also has a limited number of deeply discounted tickets available for $20, please email jaci@fpcbr.org for info. Thursday, November 12, 6.30 pm at the Marriot.

Perimeter Construction

Pay attention! Over the next two months our church campus will undergo the security and beautification upgrades that your Session approved last spring. As the project progresses, please pay attention to signage that will direct you to available entrances. Your patience is appreciated. You’re going to love the final result!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Introduction to Psalm 25: 1-7

Posted on: September 28, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Remember me not according to the sins of my youth but according to the LORD's own character. He is merciful.

Psalm 25: 1–7

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in you I trust;

let me not be put to shame;

let not my enemies exult over me.

Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O LORD;

teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me,

for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Introduction to Psalm 22

Posted on: September 7, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Welcome to the Introduction to Psalm 22.

Jesus knew Psalm 22: The Cry of Dereliction. Mark and Matthew tell us Jesus uttered the first line on the cross. It's an emotional encounter to imagine Jesus suffering for our sake.

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Introduction to Psalm 28

Posted on: August 31, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Welcome to week four of Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms: An Introduction to Psalm 28.

Only Christianity offers more than we deserve. When we cast our lives into God's hands, we depend on his mercy.

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Stitching It Up!

Posted on: August 28, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Surely this is one of the strangest years ever! Everything can seem upside down. Just when we need each other, we can’t touch and can’t meet. It seems like we’ve lived in a fog for the last seven months. What happened to 2020?

A lot of things have fallen away. We’ve learned to live without watching sports all the time (OK, so some diehards did watch the bean bag tossing championships. We pray for their souls.). We’ve grown to like having a less frenetic pace. But we’ve missed parties and barbecues and hugs. And church. If you’ve been back in the Sanctuary since the pandemic began, you know how great it feels. To be in the house of the Lord with his people. The soaring ceilings. The beautiful wood. The ascension window. All the memories. To hear the music. To sing, even in a mask. To know that the church is still the church. How very precious our church is to us.

As the fall months come, we’re working hard to re-gather our congregation. On September 13 we will return to two Sanctuary worship services: Contemporary at 9 and Classic Reformed at 11. Sunday school will resume at 10.10 on Sundays. We’re learning to gather in ways that are as safe as we can. But I know it will take an effort. We’ve got to overcome the rhythm of just staying at home. We’ve got to push against the inertia of isolation. We’ve got to put up with the inconvenience of safety measures. We’re taking a gamble that we can fill in two worship services with enough people that it doesn’t feel like we’re in a cavern. I think it’s time! Come to church! Invite others to come. Let’s stitch up the fabric of our fellowship, one returning worshiper at a time.

As the weather cools later in October (Amen, may it be so!), we want to do more outside gatherings. Imagine a huge tent on the terraced garden. And a Kirkin’ celebration outside. What if we could have our Christmas cantata outside on North Blvd. one December Sunday? What if Christmas Eve could accommodate 1,500 people because we made it a Journey to Bethlehem, touring with candlelight in groups through the stages of the Nativity Story, ending in the Sanctuary with communion? There are so many possibilities that can open up with a change in temperature. We will be an adventurous congregation!

Meanwhile, let’s stay tethered through our individual praying of the Psalms. I love reading a psalm knowing that hundreds of you are praying it that morning too. It’s not too late to connect through a Shepherding through Psalms group. Just contact Darin Travis or Kelly Wood.

I’m also happy to report how your generosity reaches into our city and around the world. We received about $75,000 in our Neighbors Fund and have already disbursed half of it to individuals and ministry partners. We continue to keep a watch out for needs related to COVID-19, and thanks to you can act quickly to help. Also, the session approved sending $20,000 to the Philemon Project, an EPC ministry in Beirut that cares for orphaned children. The recent explosion that devastated the city has made the need desperate. We’re grateful to help.

On Sunday evening, September 20, I’d like to host you in the Sanctuary for a workshop entitled Countering Cancel Culture. We’ll take up the ideas we began considering in the message that contrasted the Christian and Marxist worldview.

Finally, our music department will host a fun night called “A Night of Social Distanc-SING!” on September 17 in the Sanctuary. Our great singers will bring their talents for a delightful evening of celebrating the gift of music.

Onward, beloved congregation. Your faith inspires me. Your faithfulness astounds me. It’s so natural to love being your pastor.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Introduction to Psalm 23

Posted on: August 10, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Welcome to the first day of 100 days of Psalms.

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

How to Pray the Psalms Seminar

Posted on: August 9, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Seminar Transcript

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Weekly Psalms Readings

Posted on: August 6, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Praying the Psalm of the Week Five Different Ways!

Monday: As a Personal Prayer

Read the psalm to get a sense of it.

Read again, listening for phrases that grab you, then ponder those.

Pray the psalm aloud a third time, as a prayer of your life.

Tuesday: As a Prayer of Jesus

Read the psalm once.

Read the psalm aloud, imagining that Jesus is praying it.

Say “My Father” whenever you see LORD or God.

Ponder at what stage in his life this psalm might have fit Jesus.

Pray the psalm a third time joined to Jesus’ prayers.

Wednesday: For Someone You Love

Hold someone you love in mind as you read the psalm aloud. Consider how its words relate to their life. Pray it aloud again as if your loved one were praying it.

Thursday: As Part of Community

Follow the same pattern, only today pray the psalm imagining that you are surrounded by fellow Christians in a great worship service. Imagine as you pray it aloud twice that everyone is vocalizing it together.

Friday: For Someone Who Is Difficult or Hostile

Follow the same pattern, only today pray the psalm imagining someone you struggle to love: even, especially, if it seems unlikely this person would ever pray a psalm!

Print Bookmark with Readings

August 10-14 Psalm 23

August 17-21 Psalm 20

August 24-28 Psalm 34

August 31-September 4 Psalm 28

September 7-11 Psalm 22: 1-21

September 14-18 Psalm 22: 22-31

September 21-25 Psalm 24

September 28-October 2 Psalm 25: 1-7

October 5-9 Psalm 25: 8-22

October 12-16 Psalm 27: 1-6

October 19-23 Psalm 27: 7-14

October 26-30 Psalm 29

November 2-6 Psalm 30

November 9-13 Psalm 31

November 16-20 Psalm 32

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Posted on: August 3, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

This wretched distancing goes on! Yet so does the need to connect to others. And to God. Our hearts are still made to be in communion. So how do we stay connected in isolation? This month we begin a series of interlocking ways to encounter Christ through the Psalms. I’d like to tell you about it in advance of a mailing you’ll receive next week.

For 3,000 years, the LORD’s people have climbed the stairways of

words that are the Psalms. By making these prayers their own prayers, they have ascended through psalms straight into God’s presence. The Psalms were the very prayer book of Jesus himself. We find Christ’s heart for his Father when we pray psalms in communion with Jesus. We get drawn close to each other when we pray psalms together and for one another. We even find words to pray for our enemies when we pray psalms on behalf of those hostile to us! Psalms express our souls; they also transform our souls, taking us deeper than we could ever go on our own.

This fall, for 100 days, we’re going to hone in on the Psalms. Spiritual riches beyond price reside in these songs. So I’ll be inviting you to engage these psalms in a variety of practices.

Next week, you’ll receive in the actual mail a beautiful bookmark with the schedule of psalms we are studying and five ways—one for each week day—we can pray the psalms with different people in mind. Beginning August 10, each Monday you’ll receive by email a three-minute video introducing the psalm of the week, and then, the following Sunday we’ll use that psalm in worship. And, very exciting to me, for three Sunday evenings at 5 pm, we’ll be launching by livestream special presentations introducing these psalms. Guest speakers include one of my spiritual heroes, Malcolm Guite from Cambridge, and one of Darin’s heroes, Mark Futato from Reformed Theological Seminary. We’re hoping those of you with big TVs and spacious seating areas will host watch parties. And consider joining a Shepherding Through the Psalms group to encourage one another. These groups will consist of 3-6 friends who will weekly connect with each other via a text, phone call, lunch or coffee—whatever works best for you. Spur one another on by discussing what you’re learning from the psalm of the week, how the prayer rhythms are going, and how to intentionally pray for each other. For more information visit fpcbr.org. To sign up as a group shepherd or member, email Kelly Wood.

More About Shepherding Through the Psalms

Posted in: Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Restoring Your Soul Through Psalms

Posted on: July 30, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

This wretched distancing goes on! Yet so does the need to connect to others. And to God. Our hearts are still made to be in communion. So how do we stay connected in isolation? This month we begin a series of interlocking ways to encounter Christ through the Psalms. I’d like to tell you about it in advance of a mailing you’ll receive next week.

For 3,000 years, the LORD’s people have climbed the stairways of

words that are the Psalms. By making these prayers their own prayers, they have ascended through psalms straight into God’s presence. The Psalms were the very prayer book of Jesus himself. We find Christ’s heart for his Father when we pray psalms in communion with Jesus. We get drawn close to each other when we pray psalms together and for one another. We even find words to pray for our enemies when we pray psalms on behalf of those hostile to us! Psalms express our souls; they also transform our souls, taking us deeper than we could ever go on our own.

This fall, for 100 days, we’re going to hone in on the Psalms. Spiritual riches beyond price reside in these songs. So I’ll be inviting you to engage these psalms in a variety of practices.

Next week, you’ll receive in the actual mail a beautiful bookmark with the schedule of psalms we are studying and five ways—one for each week day—we can pray the psalms with different people in mind. Beginning August 10, each Monday you’ll receive by email a three-minute video introducing the psalm of the week, and then, the following Sunday we’ll use that psalm in worship. And, very exciting to me, for three Sunday evenings at 5 pm, we’ll be launching by livestream special presentations introducing these psalms. Guest speakers include one of my spiritual heroes, Malcolm Guite from Cambridge, and one of Darin’s heroes, Mark Futato from Reformed Theological Seminary. We’re hoping those of you with big TVs and spacious seating areas will host watch parties. And consider joining a Shepherding Through the Psalms group to encourage one another. These groups will consist of 3-6 friends who will weekly connect with each other via a text, phone call, lunch or coffee—whatever works best for you. Spur one another on by discussing what you’re learning from the psalm of the week, how the prayer rhythms are going, and how to intentionally pray for each other. For more information visit fpcbr.org. To sign up as a group shepherd or member, email Kelly Wood.

More About Shepherding Through the Psalms

Online Psalms Study Materials

Global Mission Conference

I’m so pleased that our speaker this year is Rev. Brian Miller. Brian and his wife Katherine work with sex trafficked girls in Medellin, Colombia. He is a passionate and eloquent speaker.

More About the Conference

LSU Prayer Walk

Saturday morning, August 15 at 8.15 am we will meet at the LSU Student Union to spend an hour walking the campus and praying for our university. In particular we will pray for our international students. Prayer walking is safe, fun, discrete and powerful. Full instructions will be given. Come casual.

More About the Prayer Walk

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

American Privilege

Posted on: June 30, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Super Shuttle had forgotten me at the Orlando Airport. Only Uber Black (that’s the really nice cars!) was available. My driver was gregarious. Born in Haiti, he had come to America in his teens to play soccer. Now he was a proud U.S. citizen. “I love this country,” he said. “The electricity works all the time. I came here with nothing but soccer skills. Then my knee blew out, but I got great medical care. I worked hard, and now I have my own driving business. My wife became an accountant. We have such a great life here. I love America.”

In troubled times, when we’re straining to do better as a nation, it helps to remember just why so many people from around the world want to be here. To me, any discussion about our nation needs to begin with grateful acknowledgement of American Privilege. It flows across the tapestry of ethnicities that make up our nation of immigrants. As my driver said, the electricity works all day long. So does the in-flow of clean water, and, importantly, the out-flow of sewage. I’m thankful every Tuesday for the infrastructure of sanitation. They actually take my garbage away! (If I make the effort to put it in the bin.)

All anyone has to do in a crisis is dial 911. Within minutes, fire, ambulance or police come no matter who you are. Emergency rooms treat any and every one who comes with astounding medical care, whether you can pay or not. Education from pre-K to high school is available to every citizen, including free transportation. Our schools provide ten meals a week to those who need them. Public assistance offers vouchers for food; housing for the disabled and disadvantaged; a host of services to the elderly, those fighting cancer, the demented, the physically handicapped; or those with other special needs.

We have 2.7 million miles of paved roads. Pollution controls have cleaned up the air we breathe. Public libraries are heated and cooled for comfort as they offer both print and electronic resources for free to all. There is land to spread out to. There is natural beauty of such variety and magnitude that it takes your breath away. At the city, state and national level we have beautiful parks. Our nation’s resources have created an overflowing abundance of goods in which everyone can participate. (A Ralph Lauren polo shirt for $2 at the Purple Cow: amazing!) Opportunity for social and economic mobility continues to be the envy of the world. The mightiest military in history protects us.

We freely elect our government officials. We govern by rule of law, with powers divided between three branches, the model of liberty for the world. We still have remarkable freedom to express our opinions and exercise our religion. Moreover, we have the ability to critique ourselves, to have the conversations that lead to change.

Are we perfect? Of course not! But this July 4, I want to begin with gratitude for all we have. And respect for those who sacrificed and labored and fought to make it so. Would I prefer the level of religious freedom that’s in Saudi Arabia? Or machine guns on every street corner like in Cairo? Would I prefer the surveillance culture of China? The heritage of ethnic genocides in Bosnia or Rwanda? The dictatorship of Russia? The poverty of the socialist experiment in Venezuela? No, thank you to all of the above.

Even the least among us have great privilege. Even the poor among us have, in the world context, great wealth. American privilege is a precious, priceless privilege that undergirds all our national conversations. We must begin, continue and conclude in gratitude for this nation in which God has seen fit to place us.

Happy Independence Day!

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Masquerading Worship

Posted on: May 27, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Feeling a bit like Darth Vader in my mask, I walked through the Sanctuary greeting a number of families who had come to the confirmation service. I found comfort that we were all doing the same. From a safe distance, I said, “It’s like a masquerade ball. Or a Halloween party. You feel ridiculous getting ready. But once you see that everyone else has on a costume, it’s ok.” Indeed, it was ok. No, I’m not a big fan of breathing back my own breath. But I get it. We’re helping each other. We’re making the best of the situation given to us. And I’m awfully proud that you are making the effort to regather our congregation in the Sanctuary while following the safest recommendations in a spirit of adventure. Of course you are!

Now I don’t mind telling you, leadership in an unchartered crisis is exhausting! Every week, sometimes every other day, we have to pivot. We have to adapt. To plot a new course knowing it might change overnight. I’ve been so impressed with the flexibility and innovation and sheer hard work of our on-the-ground staff. Our team bowls me over with the way they’ve communicated and created worship and ministry for all of us in these strange days.

Lately, I’ve found a place to be peaceful. I think our elders have found that same place. We’re sheltering in the leadership that is above us. We’re thankful for and praying for our freely elected government. As long as what the state asks doesn’t compel us to compromise the gospel or doesn’t egregiously and specifically target people of faith, we are glad to follow. To be part of Team Louisiana.

This gives us two strong directions. On the one hand, we want to do everything that is permitted to us to do. Our business is gathered worship. We exist to proclaim the gospel in community for the community. So when we can open at 25%, we do. We energetically embrace what we may do, offering the best we can give to the most who can come. On the other hand, we accept what is prescribed for our safety. If sanitizing, distancing and masking is what is asked, we’re happy to do it. It’s not fun. But it’s what is called for. And that makes me peaceful.

I don’t want to try to think I know better. Nor do I want to live in fear. I want to live boldly within the guidance of what is both permitted and safe. Down this road, lies peace, restoration and love for our community. Just think, no one has ever done this before! We’ll always remember this time. I will always remember your overwhelming love for your church and commitment to our ministry in the heart of Baton Rouge. These days, it’s easy as pie to say I love being your pastor!

Gratitude for Steve Rushing

The director of our chancel choir ends his tenure with us this month. Dr. Steve Rushing has partnered with me in leading Classic Reformed Worship for the last fifteen years. His outstanding full-time vocal teaching at Southeastern University and then at Baton Rouge International School have meant that Steve’s service to us has always been on a quarter-time basis. With the arrival of our first full-time worship director who is fluent in both classic and contemporary styles, there is too much overlap to continue with two choir directors. So it is with both sadness and gratitude that we bid farewell to Steve in his official capacity.

But first, we want to celebrate his work among us. Steve raised high the excellence of our choir program. He established the reputation of our music throughout the community and especially amidst the musicians in town. His gracious spirit and love for all kinds of music played a significant role in healing tensions that once existed between our worship styles. Steve has freely offered vocal lessons to many members, taking a personal interest in his choir and enhancing the careers of our student singers. And that voice! Could anyone else have sung the voice of God in Roots and Promises? The annual cantatas with orchestra have become a beloved tradition among us. Seeing and hearing Steve’s great pleasure in getting the most out of his singers and musicians communicates joy to all of us. We will miss his humor, his spiritual insights and his collegiality.

Though social distancing limits our options, we can still heartily celebrate Steve on Sunday, June 21 at the 11 am service. We all want to express our appreciation for this fine Christian man, musician and vocalist.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

How I Went from Worry to Hope

Posted on: April 29, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Anxiety. I had it. When our isolation first began, we had to pivot everything. I worried. Would the congregation hold together or fragment? Would people drift apart? Would people decide they don’t really need a church after all? Personally, I had to wrestle with the question, “What exactly is the point of a pastor anyway?”

Staying-at-home offered more time. God led me deeper into his Word. I felt his presence more in prayer. When my sense of self and worry for the church started to wash out with the tide of worry, the Spirit of Christ Jesus flowed in through these times of reflective prayer and study. That, after all, is what our beliefs have told us all along: the Spirit is the glue who keeps us joined to Christ and to one another. He is the magnetic force of our communion. He is the skin and sinew of the body of Christ, keeping us whole.

How wonderful it has been to see the Spirit cohering our church. You didn’t drift away or apart! If the stats are correct, more people, not fewer, are entering the worship we offer. Your beautiful video testimonies have linked us across all ages and stages. Hundreds of you have been checking on hundreds of you! Hundreds of boxes of food have been shared with the community. People continue to meet through Zoom or by phone. Giving continues. The staff pivoted to engage our members and produce our worship and communication, learning more and updating every week. In all, our church has proved herself dedicated, agile and energetic. I’m so thankful, and I’m so proud of you! I’m filled with hope.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

The session has called for a special offering to be collected during May to offer relief to our members and neighbors during the pandemic. The first $10,000 will go to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, as we’ve tragically seen how hunger is a real need in our city. The second $10,000 will assist the Christian Outreach Center in their work resettling the homeless population (the pandemic led to the clearing of several “tent villages” in the city). Further gifts will go to our church’s Helping Hands fund to assist church members, partner ministries and neighbors affected by this crisis. We know there will be personal needs when the ripple of government support runs out. We will be offering “grace grants” to church members, who can apply discretely through Barry Phillips. We’d love to help our members over a rough patch, trusting that in years to come, as they are able, they will give back to this same Helping Hands fund. You can give online or through checks marked “Neighbors Fund.”

Link to Donate

Emerging: May 17?!

In an unprecedented crisis, everything is always subject to change. But in hope, we plan using the best information we have. Our hope is that limited gathered worship will resume Sunday, May 17. That looks like two Sanctuary services, 9 am and 11 am, with capacity for 150 worshipers. We will have 50 to 60 sections marked off for family groups or singles to sit while maintaining distance. We will offer sign up online or by phone so we hopefully won’t have to turn anyone away. We will still offer “up close” livestreaming for those at home. Other precautions related to sanitizing will be taken. More details to come the week of May 10. This means we will plan now to go ahead with our Confirmation service at 4 pm on May 17. If demand warrants, we may be able to add an afternoon service in the future. We’ll all have to stay nimble and watch for updates.

Sign Up for Worship

Staff Changes

Happy news: welcome Jaime Carnaggio as our new Director of Women’s Ministry. Jaime has served on our staff since 2015 as an assistant in Children’s Ministry and then with our women. She’s full of love for Christ, her family and our people. She’s a deep, energetic and engaging Bible teacher. She connects to women of all ages and has a passion for sharing Jesus through his Word. While Jaime served 6 months as our interim director, it became clear that she was growing with the job, getting more effective as her responsibilities grew. The session has delightedly endorsed her in this new position.

Sad news: the Cato family is moving to Texas in July. Kinch has taken a position as assistant head of a Christian school in Fort Worth. That means we will be losing Audra, who has worked so effectively for a decade. She began leading the renovation of our nursery ministry, turning it into one of our most successful programs. Then we asked her to lead Childhood Ministry, and we’ve seen wonderful growth in the depth of ministry and in numbers of children. We’re going to miss Kinch, Audra, Robert and Helen, but we pray a wonderful new life for them, knowing they will bless many wherever they are. Meanwhile, join us in prayer as we search for a new staff leader in Childhood.

Posted in: From the Pastors' Desk

Lent - Day 42

Posted on: April 11, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 42 Saturday

JESUS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 28: 16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Luke 24: 36-53

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

CAST NOTES

Jesus is really risen. He ate broiled fish before his disciples. One of my favorite images of a real resurrection came through actor Bruce Kuhn. As he recited this episode from Luke, Bruce pretended to pick a fish bone from his teeth. It hit me: this was a real man, risen from the dead. Still Jesus. Of course, he was also transformed, outfitted for an eternal, embodied life, always our brother and advocate.

The protagonist of Passion Week has won, against all odds, his great victory. He has withdrawn now until the time of his return to set all things right. So this is the age of the mission of the church. We tell the story of our hero that all might know he is a worthy and sufficient Savior. So all might bend the knee to his kingship. So that all might raise their voice in saving worship as we declare, “Jesus is Lord!”

We live now connected to Jesus by his Spirit that he has sent to dwell in our hearts, to inspire our worship, to grow the fruit of love in our lives and empower our witness. We go forth under the blessing hands and shining face of the ascending, still incarnate Jesus Christ.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

For centuries, this short message by John Chrysostom, has been read every Easter in churches throughout the world. We will make it our final prayer as we anticipate our Easter worship tomorrow.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.

He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.

He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,

“You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below. ”

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.

It was in an uproar because it is mocked.

It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.

It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.

It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.

It took earth, and encountered Heaven.

It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O Death, where is thy sting?

O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!

Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!

Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;

for Christ having risen from the dead,

is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

Posted in:

Lent - Day 41

Posted on: April 10, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 41 Friday

PETER, PART 4

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 21: 15-19

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

CAST NOTES

After that wonderful breakfast on the beach, Jesus turned his attention directly on Peter. “Do you love me more than these?” I imagine Peter, full of heart, delighted to be asked to express his ardor for Jesus, “You know I love you!” The second questioning, however, might have baffled him. Peter didn’t mind reassuring Jesus. But his affections were never hidden. Of course he loved Jesus. The third inquiry cut Peter to the quick. How could Jesus keep questioning the deepest, truest part of Peter’s very life? What a moment of understanding it must have been when it dawned on Peter. Three times he had denied Jesus. Three times he would be asked to affirm his love to Jesus and before others. These questions were meant for restoration!

Years before, as Luke 5 tells us, in the first great catch of fish, Peter had dropped to his knees, ashamed of his sinfulness before Jesus of such holy power. Jesus had assured him of forgiveness by giving him a mission: from now on you will be a fisher of people. Here on the beach Jesus restores Peter by re-missioning him. Feed my sheep!

So, too, we get forgiven and restored, we get opportunity to worship and express our love not just as ends in themselves, but so we can enter the mission Jesus has for us!

With this episode in mind, we can see how personal was Peter’s praise in the first letter we have from him, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1: 3). Indeed, the resurrection turned the dead despair of Peter’s denial into relief so great it made him new and filled him with living hope.

Peter’s final benediction in that letter also arises from his profound personal experience, “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 5: 10-11).

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Hold this scene of restoration and re-missioning in mind as you pray aloud Peter’s own words of praise and hope:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to his great mercy,

he has caused us to be born again

into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading,

kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power

are being guarded through faith for a salvation

ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved with various trials,

So that the tested genuiness of your faith—

More precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—

May be found to result in praise and glory and honor

At the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him.

Thought you do not now see him, you believe in him,

And rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

Obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

(1 Peter 1: 3-9)

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

Imagine the joy Peter had after Jesus reinstated him! Jesus demanded that he declare his love, and Peter, tested to his core, declared his love for Jesus passionately. Jesus told him to go and feed his sheep. Peter would fulfill that command. His sermons in Acts skillfully, ardently proclaim the news about Jesus.

Soren Kierkegaard wrote,

As God created man and woman, so too He fashioned the hero and the poet, or orator. The poet cannot do what that other does, he can only admire, love and rejoice in the hero. Yet he too is happy, and not less so, for the hero is as it were his better nature, with which he is in love, rejoicing in the fact that this after all is not himself, that his love can be admiration. He is the genius of recollection, can do nothing except call to mind what has been done. . . . He follows the option of his heart, but when he has found what he sought, he wanders before everyman’s door with his song and with his oration, that all may admire the hero as he does, be proud of the hero as he is (as quoted in Raniero Cantalamessa, Remember Jesus Christ, 2007, p. 77).

Peter well knew that he was not the hero of our redemption story. Jesus is the one hero. Peter rejoiced to take the part of troubadour. His two letters as well as his testimony in Acts overflow with admiration for his champion, Jesus.

And so Peter urged all of us to join him as an orator for Christ, whatever the size of audience, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3: 15, NIV).

Posted in:

Lent - Day 40

Posted on: April 9, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 40 Thursday

DISCIPLES, PART 3

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 21: 1-14

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

CAST NOTES

Jesus was alive. But not always with them. He came and went for those forty days between his resurrection and his ascension. Sometimes he taught them the Scriptures, even ate with them (Acts 1: 3-4). Other times he was gone. They weren’t always sure what to do in between. They had gone to Galilee for a while, as the angel had commanded (Matt. 28: 7). In this episode, a restless Peter decided to do what he knew how to do, what he had done before Jesus called him: fish on the Sea of Galilee (aka the Sea of Tiberias).

It was a night much like the one recorded in Luke 5. They had caught nothing. At dawn, they were near the shore and saw an early riser on shore with a charcoal fire. Déjà vu washed through them as he ordered them to cast the net again. As it filled miraculously with fish, John knew. It was Jesus! Great-hearted, impetuous Peter couldn’t wait for the boat to get there, so he leapt into the sea and swam for Jesus.

There’s a great tenderness in the scene that follows. Breakfast on the beach with Jesus. Ordinary fellowship over a basic meal. Extraordinary spiritual communion with the risen Lord. Loaves and fish, so like the feast in the desert that fed five thousand. Broken bread and knowing Jesus, so like the supper at Emmaus. Word and sacrament. Learning and communing. Jesus alive giving them himself.

This is a snapshot of the ordinary Christian life. Week by week, gathered worship over Scripture and the Supper. Day by day, time with Jesus as we read his Word by the illumination of the Holy Spirit and pray to him by the prompting of his Spirit within. Speaking to him of ordinary concerns. Being lifted out of our little story into his big story so that our day to day becomes shot through with greater possibility and deeper meaning. The encounters that inform us over a lifetime.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Imagine this scene of breakfast on the beach with Jesus as you pray (or sing!) the words to this classic hymn by Thomas Chisholm:

Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed thy hand hath provided—

Great is thy faithfulness,

Lord unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed thy hand hath provided—

Great is thy faithfulness,

Lord unto me!

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 39

Posted on: April 8, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 39 Wednesday

THOMAS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 20: 24-30

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

CAST NOTES

We can be thankful for Thomas’ doubts. For he is our man on the scene. Thomas represents all of us who were not there when the risen Jesus appeared. He speaks for us when he voices his concern that these kinds of things just don’t happen. For all of us who feel we missed the one class when the keys to understanding were passed out, Thomas is our man. Others may have been gifted with easy faith, but we have always struggled. We want to know with certainty and there seems little to be had. Go on Thomas, and make your demands for all of us!

Curiously, the account does not tell us whether Thomas actually touched Jesus or not. Rather, right after Jesus’ offer, we hear Thomas declare, “My Lord and my God!” (vs. 28). Perhaps he did touch Jesus, or perhaps none of that made any difference. Jesus had come to him in risen glory and offered himself. He exhorted Thomas to put away his doubt and start believing. That was enough for Thomas. Interestingly, the biggest doubter, the last holdout, ended up being the one who made the strongest declaration of who Jesus is in all the Gospels! “My Lord and my God!” This skeptic became the boldest confessor.

We all need to turn a sharp eye on the doubts we have. Too often we can let our struggles with unanswerable questions provide cover for us so that we do not have to deal with the Christ who comes and calls us to himself. So we each have to ask, “Would I throw my doubts up even if they were all answered? Or am I ready and waiting for Christ to make himself known to me? Am I anxious to join doubting Thomas as the boldest believer and cry out to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Oh Jesus, my Lord and my God,

Forgive my doubts.

All I ever wanted was for you to be alive.

They said you were,

But I missed it. As usual.

I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Why didn’t you wait til I was there?

I could not release my grief to a dream.

I could not revive hope if you were a fantasy.

How awful that week of waiting was.

They rejoiced; I sulked.

Then there you were!

Inviting me to touch you.

True is the Psalm:

In your presence is fullness of joy,

In your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I did not need to touch after all.

All I ever wanted was not enough.

But you overflowed every expectation.

It was you, alive, everlasting, real.

Oh Jesus, my Lord and my God!

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

In Thomas, we have a guy who is a big realist, and a big doubter. He demands to verify what the other witnesses saw. And once he did, he gave himself to the truth: Jesus is risen!

The mystical reality of faith in Jesus is that the once and for all event of Jesus’ days among us, of his cross and resurrection, can cross time and come into our immediate experience. Time and space are no obstacles. The witnesses have passed the story from one generation to the next. Thomas saw, and he told. Others believed and received the truth of the resurrection in their very bones. The Spirit came within them and brought about a sense of Christ’s presence they had never had before. He brought power for changed lives. He brought forgiveness and peace. He brought power to tell others. And they experienced the truth. And they told others, and they told others, and now these words are being passed to you. Jesus is risen! (Gerrit Dawson, April 28, 2019 sermon).

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Lent - Day 38

Posted on: April 7, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 38 Tuesday

CLEOPAS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Luke 24: 13-35

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

CAST NOTES

This is the only mention of Cleopas in the Bible. We do not know if he had been following Jesus for a while or if he had just been drawn to him during the events of Passion Week. Either way, Cleopas was both sad and baffled. Like we do after momentous happenings, these men were going over and over what had happened. Jesus played dumb! Just as he did with Mary, in the after-mirth of his return to life, he seemed to enjoy teasing out the revelation of his rising.

For the rest of their walk to Emmaus, Jesus explained how the Scriptures pointed to these exact events that happened to the Christ. Their hearts burned with eagerness and anticipation. They urged Jesus to stay with them in the village. Next, Luke tells the story in a way that we cannot miss the connection with the Lord’s Supper. Jesus took bread, blessed God, broke bread and gave it to them. In this second ever enactment of the sacrament, their eyes were opened. They knew this man was their Lord Jesus.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

The famous French mathematician Blaise Pascal longed for a deeper connection to Christ, something that would bring Jesus from “head” knowledge to “heart” experience. One evening, it happened. He wrote down this experience and kept the paper in his vest pocket where it was found after his death. I invite you to make it your prayer today for a heartfelt realization that Jesus is risen and real.

The year of grace 1654,

Monday, 23 November . . .

From about half-past-ten in the evening until half past midnight

FIRE

‘God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,’

Not of philosophers and scholars,

Certainty, certainty, heartfelt, joy, peace.

God of Jesus Christ.

“My God and your God.”

“Thy God shall be my God.”

The world forgotten, and everything except God.

He can only be found by the ways taught in the Gospels.

Greatness of the human soul.

“O righteous Father the world had not known thee,

But I have known thee.’

Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy.

I have cut myself off from him.

“They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters.”

My God wilt thou forsake me?

Let me be not cut off from him forever!

“And this is life eternal, that they may know thee,

The only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.”

Jesus Christ.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 37

Posted on: April 6, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 37 Monday

MARY MAGDALENE

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 20: 1a, 11-18

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb…

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabonni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

CAST NOTES

Hers is the most poignant of all the resurrection stories. John focusses intently and personally on Mary Magdalene. She had come to the tomb to complete the burial anointing of the body of Jesus. She wanted the chance to hold him one more time. After the horror of Friday, she wanted to see him at peace now.

And so the sight which greeted her was all the more bewildering. The body was gone. Oh, was it not enough to mock him, and then beat him, and finally kill him? Now they had stolen his body as well. Jesus was not allowed to be at rest, and Mary was not allowed the certainty of her grief. This tragedy never ended. They were still doing things to him.

Then a strange man inside the cave asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She says she just wants to see him. The body, the body would be enough for her, if only they had not taken it.

Then, John tells us, Mary turned around and saw Jesus. She did not recognize him. Oh just tell me where he is and I will go to him!

And then came the turning of the tears. Jesus spoke to her one word, “Mary.”

“Rabboni! My teacher!” She fell at his feet and held on to him hard. He was alive. How could it be? His voice still sounded in her mind, the voice like no other. “Mary.” She knew. Beyond hope. Beyond belief. And the rains fell again, though now she was weeping for joy. The turning of the tears.

We experience the wonder of resurrection when we hear Jesus call our name. It is the great mystery of Christian experience that this unique event in history can become personally accessible to us when we place our full trust in Jesus and open our hearts to him, asking him to call us by name to himself.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

I never thought I would hear your voice again.

The sounds of your agony lingered from Friday.

Barely sounding like the man I had known,

Your cracked voice cried out your agony and faith.

And then with a great cry, you were silent.

There would be no more.

No more stories, no more laughter, no more prayers.

How I yearned to comfort you!

I wanted to climb up that cross and touch your cheek,

Put my face by yours and tell you it would be all right.

Even after as we took you down I wanted to hold you,

I wanted a moment.

But sunset was coming and we had to get you to Joseph’s tomb.

All Sabbath I waited like a caged lioness,

Waiting for first light of the new week.

I wanted that moment. Even in a burial cave.

To smooth your hair, wipe your brow,

Wrap you tight against the cold of death.

When you weren’t there, I thought I would come undone.

But you! Oh you, you were playing with me!

All risen, you let me wait to see until you called my name.

I’m not angry. Go ahead and tease.

Just say my name!

I follow when you call. I worship where you are.

I dance where you walk alive.

My Rabboni. My Jesus again.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 36

Posted on: April 5, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

MEETING THE RISEN JESUS

Week Six

Fritz von Uhde. Woman, Why Weepest Thou? 1892.

Beyond hope and any expectation, Passion Week ended in triumph. The great reversal occurred when the verdict of “guilty” upon Jesus got reversed by the only true Sovereign Judge. In raising Jesus, the Father vindicated the Son. He answered Pilate’s declaration in presenting a battered and defeated Jesus. Now as the stone popped off the tomb, the Father declared to the world, “Behold the man!” Jesus emerged rippling with everlasting life in a restored, renewed and eternally resurrected body.

Jesus began to reclaim his disheartened disciples. We see him act almost playfully as he takes his time revealing himself to Mary in the garden and the disciples along the road to Emmaus.

Poignantly, he shows himself to Thomas who had missed his first appearance. And tenderly he restores Peter from a threefold denial through an opportunity to declare his love three times, and receive his mission, the mission of the church in triplicate.

Artist Fritz von Uhde tenderly depicts Jesus reaching to Mary as he calls her name, turning her dismay to joy.

Day 36 Sunday

THE MARYS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 28: 1-10

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

CAST NOTES

Mary was a popular name in New Testament times! Mary, Jesus’ mother, and Mary of Bethany who anointed Jesus were not one of the Marys named in this account. These were Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons, and Mary the mother of James, Joseph and Salome, about whom we know little.

They had come early on the first day of the week to complete the burial process interrupted by the Sabbath that began Friday evening. They expected to tend the dead. Instead they found the stone rolled back, the guards paralyzed with awe, angels proclaiming resurrection and then Jesus himself alive!

How can we describe their experience? Master storyteller J.R.R. Tolkien coined the term eucatastrophe for this sudden reversal where something horrible becomes wonderful beyond hope. It’s a “good” catastrophe which changes everything. Tolkien wrote in a letter to his son that the eucatastrophe in a story:

. . . pierces you with a joy that brings tears . . . it produces its peculiar effect because it is a sudden glimpse of Truth, your whole nature . . . feels a sudden relief as if a major limb out of joint had suddenly snapped back. It perceives . . . that this is indeed how things really do work in the Great World for which our souls were made . . . the Resurrection was the greatest eucatastrophe possible . . . and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in love.

We have glimpses of this wonderful, piercing resurrection joy. When you thought you were ruined and a solution came through at the last moment. When you knew you were going to die, then didn’t. When you thought a loved one was lost, for good, but then she came home. When you thought the relationship was broken forever and then you reconciled. But all of these are caught up, raised higher in the great, glorious reversal that the Marys were first to witness. they mocked Jesus breaks my heart. And all the more when I imagine my own participation.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER (11th C. LATIN PRAYER)

Come Christian, bring your sacrifice

Of praise to Jesus Christ,

Our conquering victim and

Our Easter king.

Jesus, the sinless lamb,

Has saved the sinful flock and

Reconciled us to the Father.

Death and life have wrestled

In a wondrous fight,

The leader of the living

Fell to the powers of night

Dead, yet he reigns in power

His strange victory to share.

Speak, Mary, friend of Christ,

What did you see on sorrow’s road?

Tell us your story.

“I saw the tomb of the living Christ.

I saw his resurrection glory.

I saw the witnessing angels.

I saw the head-cloth and the shroud.

Christ my hope has risen,

And goes before his own to Galilee.”

Trust Mary, believers, for only she has truth to tell,

Unlike the falsifying crowd of rumour-makers and deceivers.

We know that Christ is truly risen,

Defeating death and hell’s dark thrall.

So conquering king, have mercy on us all, Alleluia.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 35

Posted on: April 4, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 35 Saturday

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Luke 23: 50-56

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

John 19: 38-42

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

CAST NOTES

Joseph does not appear until the very end of the gospels. He was an incognito disciple of Jesus. He had a place on the ruling Sanhedrin council, so for political reasons he had kept his loyalty hidden. He only makes his devotion to Jesus known after it is too late! The council had condemned Jesus; Jesus had been executed. Standing for him after the fact made no sense. Jesus needed supporters at his trial, not after. Jesus was gone, and nothing was to be gained by showing open belief. Joseph was committing political and social suicide, and so was his friend Nicodemus.

So why did he use, and risk, his position to approach Pilate? Why did he expose himself as a follower of Jesus as he helped take the body down? Why did he bring scandal on his family by placing the body of a condemned criminal in his own tomb? Why did he go to the expense when it was too late for the cause of Jesus?

Only love could have made him do it. The grief of deep love led him to cast caution to the wind. Passion made precious an otherwise useless gesture of loyalty. Without Jesus in the world, Joseph no longer cared what happened to him. All he cared about was honoring Jesus in his burial.

We have known this impulse: when we spent extravagantly on a funeral; when, albeit too late, we stood up for a friend who had been unjustly dismissed; when we remodeled a home just because our departed spouse would have loved it.

In the end, of course, Joseph provided a unique, known tomb for Jesus rather than the dung heap or an unmarked pauper’s grave. That meant when Jesus rose, there was a precise empty tomb to show the world. And Joseph’s love was not wasted.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Too late to speak.

Too late to stop them.

Lord, I tried to work quietly behind the scenes.

But I was only protecting myself.

For what?

Without you, nothing I have matters.

This world is dead to me.

These positions a joke.

I know I could not save you anyway,

There were too many of them,

But I ache to have tried harder.

No more hiding!

I will get you off that cross.

Gently, with dignity that befits a king.

I will save your body from the dogs and the gawkers.

You shall have my burial place.

I will tend your tattered form

With all my love and care,

With all the power at my disposal.

Too late, I know, to save you

But not too late to let them know

I am yours, and I will love you forever.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

These pliers indicate the horror of the task Joseph of Arimathea undertook. We read so quickly that he took down Jesus’ body from the cross. But crucified victims were affixed to the wood. Jesus had been spiked in the hands and feet. These thick, Roman nails had to be pried from the wood so the body could be removed. Amidst wracking grief, Joseph and any who helped him would have had to exercise brute strength simultaneously with tender care. They did not want to tear Jesus any further. This process was not immediate. It was awkward, public and intense. As you look at this picture, seeing Jesus resting in the invisible arms of his Father, note how Cigoli brings us back to the real-world labor of Joseph’s love for Jesus. He had to remove the spikes to care for his Savior in burial.

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Lent - Day 34

Posted on: April 3, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 34 Friday

THE CENTURION AT THE CROSS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Luke 23: 47-49

Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.

Mark 15: 37-39

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

CAST NOTES

Centurions were officers in the Roman army that occupied first century Israel. The name comes from the Latin for one hundred (e.g., a century), indicating they might have 100 men under their charge. Centurions fare well in the New Testament. Jesus praised the faith of a centurion who trusted that Christ could heal his servant with but a word (Luke 7: 1-10). In Acts, we read of Cornelius, a centurion known to be “a devout man who feared God with all his household” (Acts 10: 2). He received a vision from God that Peter would come to him. And so he readily accepted the gospel, being baptized as one of the first Gentile believers.

The centurion at the cross, despite his grim job of guarding people being crucified, seems to have been sensitive to the uniqueness of Jesus. Perhaps because he had seen a lot of guilty people die, he knew how strikingly different Jesus was. Confidently entrusting himself to his heavenly Father meant that Jesus did not internalize guilt for crimes. His equanimity revealed his innocence. The way he called upon God as his Father in his agony convicted this centurion that Jesus was indeed the unique Son of God.

Rome and Jerusalem may have condemned Jesus, but the centurion read the signs and saw the deeper reality.

So, too, the way we suffer reveals the most about our character. Agony tests our faith. When it proves real, it is pain that authenticates the connection we truly have with our God.

We think of the inspiration we get from those who fight cancer with trust that, win or lose, they remain “in his grip.”

Believers grieve at graveside, but they do not despair. The peace that passes understanding rises through those joined to Jesus in a way that can’t be faked.

People get fired, left, swindled, robbed, flooded. The mature Christian in those moments, has a heart that trusts revealed for the unbelieving world to see and marvel over.

So now, while we can, for the sake of the watching world, we are called to cultivate a deep relationship with Christ through prayer, the Word and sacraments to that what is exposed in us is the real deal.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Surely this man was innocent!

I saw you Lord.

Speak forgiveness to your enemies.

Give John and Mary to each other.

Pass hope to the thief.

I heard you Lord, cry out to a God you thought had forsaken you,

And trust him anyway.

I saw you in agony not curse your God nor your fate

As do so many.

You entrusted yourself to a faithful Creator.

You died as you lived, following a plan

You knew had been written for you.

I heard the ripping of the Temple curtain

All the way out on Golgotha.

Barriers coming down.

God and man meeting as one again.

Because you, Jesus of Nazareth,

Are the Holy One.

Surely this man is the Son of God!

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

Follow the story of Cornelius the centurion who became one of the first Gentile believers. As you read, consider what is it that makes a person of a different religion and ethnicity open to hearing the story of Jesus:

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

The next day Peter rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

Cornelius opened himself to the strange possibility that a Jewish man could bring him news of the world’s savior, and even before Peter had finished speaking, the Holy Spirit filled Cornelius and he believed.

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Lent - Day 33

Posted on: April 2, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 33 Thursday

JESUS DIES

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 27: 45-50

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

Luke 23: 44-46

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

John 19: 28-30

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

CAST NOTES

The protagonist of Passion Week reaches the worst point. The hero in a life and death struggle is fastened inextricably to death. This play appears to be a tragedy.

Today’s four sayings from Jesus on the cross express his excruciating suffering and his final hope.

I thirst. Of all the bodily alarms going off in his dying, thirst rose to insist most. In the parable Jesus told of the rich man in Hades, he yearned for but a drop of water to assuage his agony (Luke 16: 24). Now he had entered the full horror of Psalm 22, “my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.”

My God, why have you forsaken me? The physical dissolution was not the worst. Crucified Jesus was bearing the sin of the world. He felt no trace of his Father. He quoted from Psalm 22: 1 in what has come to be known as the cry of dereliction. Abandonment. Ruin. Utter loneliness.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Yet, even feeling no trace of his Father, Jesus willed to trust him. He again quoted a Scripture, this time Psalm 31: 5. The second half of that verse adds, “You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” Jesus showed faith in a faithful Father even when he felt abandoned.

It is finished. In Greek it’s one word: tetelestai. It has been brought to full completion. John notes this as the fulfillment of Psalm 69: 21, “for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” Scholars such as Brant Pitre have noted that this would have completed the fourth cup of Passover which Jesus earlier declined. It would have been the sign of the new Kingdom dawning. In his death was our beginning. In his completion of suffering was our full atonement.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Lord Jesus, on the cross you prayed the script written for you a thousand years earlier. You evoked Psalm 22 to find words for your horror and hope in your hopelessness. So we pray them with you to fill in your story,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

From the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day but you do not answer,

And by night but I find no rest. . . .

All who see me mock me;

They make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

He trusts in the LORD, let him deliver him;

Let him rescue him, for he delights in him!

Yet you are he who took me from my mother’s womb . . .

Be not far from me, for trouble is near,

And there is none to help.

I am poured out like water.

And all my bones are out of joint,

My heart is melted like wax . . .

They have pierced my hands and feet—

I can count all my bones—

They stare and gloat over me;

They divide my garments among them,

And for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O LORD, do not be far off!

Come quickly . . . Deliver my soul . . . Save me!

You have rescued me!

I will tell of your name to my brothers;

In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 32

Posted on: April 1, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 32 Wednesday

THE GOOD THIEF

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 27: 38-40

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

Luke 23: 39-43

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

CAST NOTES

One of the most beautiful conversations in the Gospels occurs on the cross. Jesus was crucified between two criminals who had been condemned for robbery. At first, in Matthew’s recounting, both men railed at Jesus. But then, according to Luke, one thief had a change of heart. Tradition calls him Dismas. He realized that he was being executed for actual crimes committed, but Jesus was innocent. He believed Jesus would come to reign over a kingdom, and he entreated Jesus to “remember” him on that day.

We may imagine that the thief had a traditional Hebraic view of death as portrayed in the psalms. What if that darkest lament, Psalm 88, was on the minds and hearts of both men on the cross? The psalmist writes as a man whose “life draws near to Sheol” (vs. 3). He feels already discarded to the pit. He has become a man who is:

Like those whom you remember no more,

for they are cut off from your hand (vs. 5).

One of the great fears of death was being cut off not only from life in the world but from God himself, as if we get expunged even from God’s thoughts. When the thief entreats Jesus to remember him, it is a plea to remain in existence, not to be left to utter darkness, for to be forgotten by God would mean being cut off from God’s presence. It amazes me to consider how deeply Jesus’ reply matches the mirror-like parallel of Psalm 88: 5. The thief asks to be remembered. Jesus answers, “You will be with me.” In other words, “You will not be cut off from God’s hand. I will enter the experience of that utter forsakenness so that you will not.”

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

I hated you at first, like I hated myself and everything else.

I cursed you for doing nothing to save yourself or us,

Though people had said you were a king with power.

But just the way you took our insults, even then,

Closed my bitter mouth.

I knew I deserved to die and never see God.

The abyss opened below me.

The land of shadow.

The land forgotten by the living,

The land without the light of God.

As I hung, I knew my type of people and how they died.

You were not one of us.

What if you were a king that would reign in heaven?

What if you would not be discarded but exalted?

Could you, would you save me from the Pit?

Lord, remember me!

From your agony, you gazed at me,

Weighed my sincerity, believed my need.

You promised that I would be with you.

In the land of the blessed.

In the company of God and his saints.

In a kingdom that never ends.

I was falling into the grave and you grabbed my hand

I was slipping into darkness when you shined a light.

I was tumbling into everlasting loneliness

When you made me your own.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

Jesus equated his suffering with that of Jonah (see Mt. 12: 38-40). And the thief on the cross, by the words of his request, indicated familiarity with the prayer of Jonah. Read the words Jonah prayed from under the depths, first from the perspective of the thief on the cross, then from Jesus’ perspective.

Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, saying,

“I called out to the LORD, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas…

all your waves and your billows passed over me.

Then I said, ‘I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’

The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O LORD my God.

When my life was fainting away,

I remembered the LORD,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

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Lent - Day 31

Posted on: March 31, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 31 Tuesday

JESUS ON THE CROSS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Luke 23: 32-34

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

John 19: 25-27

. . . but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

CAST NOTES

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus always seemed to have such a complete sense of himself. He knew who he was. He knew his mission. He knew the plan of his Father and his role in it.

Nevertheless, it stuns me to see how self-possessed Jesus was during his torture and crucifixion. Even a little pain makes me withdraw into myself. I fear. I doubt. I don’t care about others. But Jesus, with nails in his hands and feet, thorns crushing his head, his open back scraping the rough wood could still focus his mind. He could still notice others. As helpless as a man could be, Jesus could still bless and redeem others.

In the first of his seven sayings from the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they know not what they do.” That has always seemed to me a generous assessment of us who crucified Christ! Would it have changed anything in my heart if I had known what I was doing? I fear I would reject him anyway.

Yet Jesus, at precisely the time when we might expect him to despair of the humanity he came to save, recalled a deeper purpose. We were made for God. He is our greatest, indeed, our only good. And as C.S. Lewis said, “I believe . . . that the kernel of what [a person] was really seeking, even in his most depraved wishes, will be there, waiting for him in the ‘High Countries.’” Human beings want, require, crave God, even if awareness has been lost and God-hatred has ruled us. And Jesus came to answer that need. To literally “bleed out” the poison of sin in us to give us the new life of his Spirit by his forgiveness.

This love is not only grand in scope, but intimately specific. In a touching scene, Jesus in the agony of the cross nevertheless notices his mother Mary and his disciple John. He gives them to each other to care for each other after his departure. From the cross, he creates bonds, family, enduring care.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Lord Jesus, your prayer staggers me:

Father, forgive them.

I don’t know how to pray that

When I am wounded, deceived, left, forgotten or overlooked.

Yet you have placed words on lips:

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

You are serious about my forgiving!

Lord Jesus, your thoughtfulness staggers me:

John, behold your mother.

Mary, behold your son.

I live so compartmentalized,

Isolated by busy-ness and technology.

Yet you have placed a rule in our hearts:

Love one another as I have loved you.

You are serious about my connecting!

Lord Jesus, forgive me.

Lord Jesus, give me to others.

Lord Jesus, lead me to forgive.

Lord Jesus, teach me to love.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

Jesus came to love us. He had a legitimate claim on us. He is our creator and he called us to himself. But we fled him. He could not force us and have us be free. On the cross he was suspended in agony by his love. Rejected by us, he nevertheless could not let us go. So he endured in love until it killed him.

Those who love inevitably find that there are hours when we can go neither forward nor backward, but must wait helplessly for the other to determine our fate.

From his position of hanging in the excruciating conflict between his love for us and our rejection of him, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34). That Jesus prayed for our forgiveness does not surprise me. He came to give his life for us, to create a new and living way to God. But that second line worries me. We didn’t know what we were doing? Is the basis for our forgiveness the fact that we were ignorant of who we put to death?

I believe that even knowing what we did, we would have done it anyway. To me, we knew enough. We human beings knew that here was the light of the world and we wanted to be left alone in the darkness. We wanted to snuff out that light. And Jesus surely knew that. Perhaps he means that we neither know the true depth of our sin nor the true extent of God’s love. However much we might know of who Christ is, our capacity to reject him in sin would be there. But never will we fully understand the depth of his love for us. Knowing the lostness in us more than we will ever grasp, still God did not spare his own Son but freely gave him up for us. There is in Christ on the cross revealed a love of God beyond measurement of height and depth (Gerrit Dawson, I Am With You Always, 2000, pp. 120-123).

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Lent - Day 30

Posted on: March 30, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 30 Monday

SIMON OF CYRENE

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Mark 15: 21-22

And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).

Romans 16: 13

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, whose has been a mother to me as well.

Acts 11: 20-21

. . . men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

CAST NOTES

Simon was in town for the Passover festival. He had journeyed from north Africa, from a region in today’s Libya. So we know he was devout in his belief in the LORD. Simon just happened to be in the streets where the soldiers led Jesus carrying his cross. Reflecting on this passage through the centuries, Christians have always thought that Simon was needed because Jesus stumbled and fell, weak from his horrific flogging.

Imagine Simon’s shock when the Roman guard suddenly picked him from the crowd. I would have feared getting crucified myself!

We wonder how carrying Christ’s cross affected Simon later. Surely he paid close attention to the news about Jesus and to the reports of his resurrection. Perhaps he even met the risen Jesus.

We believe Simon became a fruitful disciple from two statements. First, Mark describes him as “the father of Rufus and Alexander.” That information would only be significant to Mark’s readers if Rufus and Alexander were known believers! Simon created a heritage of faith in Jesus. Second, at the end of Romans, Paul sends greetings to Rufus. If this is the same Rufus, Paul has confirmed Simon’s legacy.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Why did you let them pick me?

I was from North Africa.

I didn’t fit the profile!

O Lord, I was so terrified.

This was not my struggle.

But I feared it would be the end of me?

When we got to Golgotha,

Would they link me with you?

I looked at you then, on your knees,

Collapsed under the weight of the cross.

Pity awoke first.

“I’ve got this,” I said,

And you looked at me,

Through blood and tears,

With love that captured my heart.

The mob screamed and spat.

As if they wanted you dead before you arrived.

I felt the fury and knew now

I had been linked with you.

Their screams and stones bowed me up.

Fear turned to pride.

I was linked with you,

And I would get you to that Skull hill.

They would be guilty of your full, gruesome death.

You would finish your purpose.

I would carry you as well as the cross if needed.

Why did you pick me?

I didn’t fit the profile of

One worthy for this honor.

But I loved you then, more than I thought possible.

And I love you now.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

Posted in:

Lent - Day 29

Posted on: March 29, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

MEETING JESUS AT THE CROSS

Week 5

Ludovico Cigoli. The Deposition from the Cross. c. 1600.

The dark worst point of Passion Week was the six hours of crucifixion. Nature corroborated the horror as the sky went dark and the earth shook.

Jesus was nailed to the rough beams in his hands and feet. The word “excruciating” was invented to express the agony of being hung on a cross to die.

Yet even in these hours, redeeming encounters occurred. Simon of Cyrene became a disciple after he carried the cross for Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha, the place of the skull. One thief crucified next to Jesus came to faith as he pleaded to be remembered and received assurances from Jesus that he would be with him always. And Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council who believed in Jesus, came out of hiding to arrange an honorable burial for Jesus.

Around 1600, Ludovico Cigoli captured the great and grievous effort it was to take a body from a cross. The spikes had to be removed from the wood and the flesh. The body had to be lowered in a winding sheet, wrapped, then carried off.

Jesus’ remaining loyal followers carefully tended him, pouring their love into what, to all eyes, seemed a lost cause. We note by their head-wear the presence of both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, participating in this work far beneath their station. Here faith shone brightest, when it seemed least victorious.

Day 29 Sunday

SOLDIERS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 27: 27-31

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

Luke 23: 36-37

The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

CAST NOTES

Who knows why they treated Jesus this way. He clearly wasn’t a danger to them. Perhaps the soldiers seethed with anger at being so far away from home. Perhaps they hated this population of Jews who, though obedient, always seemed unbowed in spirit. Perhaps they liked having a victim they were free to bully.

We know the delicious thrill of having a scapegoat. Maybe it was the girl in middle school with the smelly hair. Or the boy in high school who never had all his gear for gym. Or the guy with acne we called Pizza Face. As awkward as we felt, at least we weren’t like them.

We know the power of displaced anger. When we take out frustration at work on our spouse. When we unload in fury at the children over a simple mistake. When we jerk the dog’s collar for pulling. There’s a rage we want to release on someone who can’t fight back.

And of course, there’s the indignation we feel at the presence of holiness. Anger ignites in us when someone won’t participate in the gossip or the slightly shady deal or the drugs at the party.

The soldiers channeled the rage of the sinner against God that is deep inside all of us. They let out the bully I hide, the mocker I disguise and the crusher I mask.

And Jesus took it all. He would not save himself. Because he was saving us. The story of how they mocked Jesus breaks my heart. And all the more when I imagine my own participation.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Oh Lord Jesus,

I scarcely dare admit my connection to this episode.

Paul called it being a God-hater.

You said what I do to the least of these I do to you.

I have called your faithful children “goody-goodies.”

I have gleefully demonized “those people” for whom you died.

I have mocked “your glory” as a poor reason for suffering.

I have questioned angrily how you wield your sovereignty.

I have wanted to spew my venom on someone else,

Get another to carry the negative energy for me,

Transfer the shame, the guilt and the pain underneath.

You take it all.

You answer the soldiers with acceptance.

You reply to the howls of our rage with the quiet of bread broken in an upper room.

You ask for me to pour all the poison into your cup

So that you can give me the wine of life.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

In his book, Unaplogetic, Francis Spufford describes the way the crowd piled on their hatred as Jesus made his way to the cross. The soldiers were just representative of the frustration, the projection, the venom in every heart:

He’s stumbling along under the weight of his own instrument of execution, a great big wooden thing he can hardly lift, with an escort of the empire’s soldiers . . . the bystanders don’t see their hopes parading by. They see their disappointment, they see their frustration. They see everything in themselves that is too weak or too afraid to confront the strapping paratroopers; and much though they hate the soldiers, they hate him more, for his pathetic slide into victimhood. Word of his loose living, his impiety, his pleasure in bad company goes round in whispers. And just look at him. There’s something disgusting about him, don’t you think? Something that makes you squirm inside. Something . . . furtive. He’s so pale and sickly-looking, with that dried blood round his mouth. He looks like a pedophile being led away by the police. He looks like something from under a rock; as if he doesn’t deserve the daylight. He’s a blot on the new day. . . . Yeshua is a joke. He’s less a messiah, more a patch of something nasty on the pavement (Francis Spufford, Unapologetic, 2013, pp. 140-141).

Jesus became the object of our pent-up rage at the way life is, our own helplessness to change and our own disgust that we are no better. The soldiers merely expressed more brutally the bruising will in every human heart.

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Lent - Day 28

Posted on: March 28, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 28 Saturday

MALCHUS, BARABBAS AND JOHN MARK

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Today we meet three characters from Passion Week about which we know almost nothing. Yet each one had an encounter with Jesus. Holy imagination will lead us to ponder their stories.

MALCHUS

John 18: 10-11

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

Luke 22: 49-51

And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.

CAST NOTES FOR MALCHUS

The Gospels describe Malchus as the servant of the high priest. More literally he was a bond slave. His life was not his own. He served as a ready and ever-available assistant to Caiaphas, even late on a Passover night. He was related to another servant who would shortly challenge Peter (John 18: 26). Malchus’ job was to listen for orders and then fulfill them. He had come with the band of soldiers to get the man his master wanted. He was not allowed to be armed. He never expected a sword to be drawn against him. Imagine his emotions as a wild Peter struck out: surprise, fear, searing pain, panic that he might die as blood spattered everywhere. The roar in his head that replaced his hearing. Then the man his master called the chief of sinners reached toward him. Maybe Malchus flinched expecting more pain. But the hand soothed. The blood stopped spurting; the throb ceased; the terror went away. Calm, warmth, peace, hearing as clear as he’d ever known. This blasphemer, such a threat, suddenly seemed to be the giver of life. Could Caiaphas be wrong?

BARABBAS

Mark 15: 6-13

Now at the feast [Pilate] used to release for them one prison for whom they had asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out, “Crucify him.”

CAST NOTES FOR BARABBAS

Barabbas was a rebel. One of the zealots who sought to overthrow Rome’s rule by violence, whether acts of guerilla terror or outright rebellion. He had been jailed for murder. An angry, rough man, a true enemy of the state. Ironically, his name means “son of the father.” He knew he deserved death for the deaths he had dealt, and he was proud of it. Yet Pilate released him while Jesus, the true Son of the Father in heaven, sinless and full of love, was sentenced to death. Barabbas experienced literally the great exchange of Jesus’ life for his.

What did Barabbas feel when he was released? Did he know of Jesus? Did he experience survivor guilt? Barabbas reminds me of the famous Dickens chapter, “Recalled to life.” I hope he became a disciple!

CAST NOTES FOR MARK

Throughout Christian history, readers of the Gospel have conjectured that this young man was Mark himself. This curious incident is not relayed in the other three Gospels. We know from Acts 12: 12 that “John, whose other name was Mark,” was from Jerusalem and joined Paul on his first missionary journey. I like to think that Mark the Gospel writer was an eyewitness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that he humbly included this brief account of his own wilting and fleeing at the seizing of Jesus. His shame is clearly illustrated by the picture of being so afraid that he was willing to run naked through the streets. The incident motivated him through years of travels and mission for Jesus’ sake.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Malchus: I believed whatever my master told me. I was proud to serve a man so high, so learned and seemingly so just. But I have been bound to the wrong man. I cannot leave his service. But my heart is yours. You had the power to destroy us all. But instead you healed me and then let them have you. I have seen love now, and can never go back.

Barabbas: Jesus, they traded you for me. You didn’t have to go to condemnation. I could see this was your decision. I thought you were a fool. That I would never look back. But you have haunted me. Somehow claimed me. I cannot get away from you. You bought my life with yours. How now shall I live?

Mark: Ah, Lord Jesus, running naked in the streets was the least of the sins of my youth! Yet the shame of fleeing from your need still burns me! Would I be any different today?

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

Posted in:

Lent - Day 27

Posted on: March 27, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 27 Friday

PILATE, PART 2

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 19: 1-16

Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

CAST NOTES

What did Pilate hope to gain by flogging Jesus?

Pilate shows the bloody Jesus to the crowd with these words, “Behold the man!”

Consider how this declaration is meant to reduce Jesus to a beaten man. Consider how often the “opposition behind the opposition” wants to deface the image of God in humanity. We are constantly shown images of humanity helpless before the impulses of our lusts, our angers, our greed and our tricks. We see the good portrayed as fools, the righteous depicted as tyrants and the kind trampled. How often it is communicated that resistance to the way things are is futile. We should just take it and shut up.

Jesus well could have felt defeated in the face of acute suffering, the overwhelming power of Rome and the frenzy of the mob. But he remained centered, determined and at peace. Think what strength of faith it took to reply, with all visible evidence to the contrary, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”

Pilate, the man with the power, grew unhinged by Jesus’ calm and he gave into the demands of the crowd. Three times he declared that he found no guilt in Jesus. Can you see any way out for Pilate? Ultimately he lacked the strength to release him, becoming linked until the end of history with the execution of Jesus.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Pilate Video

These gods mean nothing to me now.

Jupiter, Mars, Artemis: all of them jokes.

The Emperor in his glory receiving adulation at the Colosseum:

A self-indulgent poser. He is no god.

But to whom shall I turn?

My officers have seen such death that they hold to no gods at all.

But I cannot believe there is nothing more.

No higher glory than man, man so easily beaten, deceived, mocked and defeated.

Is there only silence above? Emptiness within?

That King of the Jews had something.

A light. A peace. A trust.

Even beaten to a pulp he radiated beauty,

He seemed more a man then than I’ll ever be.

Authority from above he claimed.

From above but flowing from within.

What is truth? I had mocked him.

But he was unfazed.

“My kingdom is not of this world.

I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

His voice rang with truth.

How I wish I could hear it again?

Would I hear the truth if I heard him?

Did I do the right thing?

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 26

Posted on: March 26, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 26 Thursday

PILATE, PART 1

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 27: 11-26

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

CAST NOTES

Pontius Pilate held his position as Governor of Judea from AD 26 to 36. His job was to keep the peace. To pacify the occupied nation of the Jews under the enforced peace of the Roman Empire. Pilate represented the rule of Caesar, the Roman Emperor. Pilate represented the Powers-That-Be.

Pilate is also a symbol of all the rulers in every place who insist that they make the rules. Pilate represents all the powers and people that tell us, “Reality is what I make it to be. It’s my world, and you’re just living in it.” From insurance companies to bureaucrats to school administrations to those who keep the social gates. Pilate is the way the world is. Jesus suffered under Pilate. That means Jesus came under the control of the powers that claimed to rule the world.

But in this encounter, while Pilate holds all the military and political power, the rabbi from Nazareth seems astonishingly in control. Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews. Jesus’ enigmatic literal reply was, “You say.” Then he went silent before every other accusation.

This raises questions. How do authorities usually react to ambivalent replies? To answers that seem to imply impertinence? What amazes Pilate about Jesus declining to answer any charges? What parts of this passage give us the idea that Pilate is getting unnerved by Jesus?

What does washing his hands symbolize for Pilate? Compare this scene with Lady Macbeth famously wringing her hands saying, “Out, out damned spot!” How does Pilate’s attempt to be done with responsibility a futile gesture?

The crowd roared at Pilate, “His blood be on us and on our children!” What chills you in that demand? What is the twist in the fulfillment of their request?

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Imagine Pilate speaking that night to his wife, who had urged him to have nothing to do with Jesus. Suppose she let him vent his doubts and fears.

Did I do the right thing?

He was like no man I have ever seen.

Every man has fears.

But I could find none in him.

Whatever fears were his, he had already faced them.

He tried on the worst and accepted it—and it wasn’t me.

I held no threat to him after what he had been through.

But I couldn’t figure out what that was.

I couldn’t find a way to take him back to fear.

For all my guards, I felt as if he could have walked out at any time, and no one could have stopped him.

But he didn’t. He showed no impulse to escape.

He spoke to me as if he were from another world.

He seemed to offer me a way of escape, a different world,

A different emperor. The true Sovereign.

But of course I couldn’t ask him.

I couldn’t change allegiance, not now.

He was like no man I had ever seen.

My helpless prisoner who was in total control of all things.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 25

Posted on: March 25, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 25 Wednesday

JUDAS, PART 3

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 27: 3-10

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priest and the elders, saying, “I have sinned against innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and went out and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore, that field is has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Thus it was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for a potter’s field, as the Lord directed me” [cf. Zec. 11:13].

Acts 1: 15-20

In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) For it is written in the book of Psalms, “May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it.” (Ps. 69: 25).

CAST NOTES

In a rush of loyalty Peter drew his sword to fight off Jesus’ arresters. Before the night was over, he hadn’t the courage to admit to a serving maid his faith in Jesus. The bombastic personality of Peter was on full display that final night. The Rock turned to mush. As someone once noted about the absurdity of Peter’s denying oath: he swore to God he didn’t know God!

John’s account takes us deeper into the devastating nature of this wilting. We recall that earlier in John 18, when the mob said they sought Jesus, he replied, “I am” and they fell to the ground for the power of his affirmation. Just a few verses later, Peter is asked if he is one of Jesus’ disciples. He replies “I am not.” Literally, the words are “Not, I am,” or ouk eimi. The contrast could not be starker. Jesus is pure I am: light, life, love, being. Peter, in denying Jesus, negates his very self! Who are you now Peter? NOT I am. Peter disowned Jesus trying to save his own skin. But to cut oneself off from Jesus is to cancel out one’s very life. It is to lose oneself.

It is no wonder that another gospel tells us that after the rooster crowed, Peter “went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22: 62). In stepping away from Jesus, Peter had stepped away from life itself.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Simon Peter Video

Oh Lord, the words said that I can never get back!

The silence when I should have spoken for someone!

The moment for me to stand passed me by.

The hurt I caused; the pain I failed to prevent.

Fear ruled me. My choice for

Self-preservation. Control. Saving Face. Freedom.

I got none of those.

I am ashamed. I am enslaved to my fears.

The life drains out of me, and I am helpless to stop it.

Seizing “me” made me a shell of a person.

Worse, I trained the life out of others.

I now weep bitter tears.

The rooster crows. Time is up.

I am too little too late. Again.

And I know I cannot too quickly resolve

The crisis, turn the story, claim the victory.

I am before you this day a full-fledged Peter at dawn.

Look upon me and see the truth of who you called.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

To deny God is to negate oneself. I once heard a preacher say, “Think of the absurdity of Peter’s denial: Peter swore to God that he didn’t know God! He didn’t want to be where he was, with everything falling apart. He didn’t want even to exist anymore with Jesus being taken away and others accusing him menacingly. So he went to the place of non-sense. The “Not me” of his denial became the “Not I am” of losing himself in denying Jesus. Declaring “I don’t know him!” was equivalent to canceling his own life.

Raniero Cantalamessa describes the self-destroying nature of our denials of Christ:

“By refusing to glorify God, man himself becomes ‘deprived of the glory of God.’ Sin offends God, that is, it saddens him greatly, but only in so far as it brings death to man whom he loves; it wounds his love. . . .

Sin leads to death . . . the ‘state’ of death, that is precisely what has been called ‘mortal illness,’ a state of chronic death. In this state the creature desperately tends to return to being nothing but without succeeding and lives therefore as if in an eternal agony. . . . the creature is obliged by One stronger than himself to be what he does not consent to be, that is dependent on God, and his eternal torment is that he cannot get rid of either God or of himself. . . . He would wish to be left free to return to nothingness. . . . because he does not want to be what he is, dependent on God. . . . this is the way to pure desperation.” (Raniero Cantalamessa, Life in Christ, 1990, pp. 28-29).

Such as the bitter agony Peter experienced that night, and that we, if we resist the truth of Christ which we know, will experience all our lives before we turn back to him.

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Lent - Day 24

Posted on: March 24, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 24 Tuesday

PETER, PART 3

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 26: 69-73

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”

John 18: 15-18, 25-27

Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

CAST NOTES

In a rush of loyalty Peter drew his sword to fight off Jesus’ arresters. Before the night was over, he hadn’t the courage to admit to a serving maid his faith in Jesus. The bombastic personality of Peter was on full display that final night. The Rock turned to mush. As someone once noted about the absurdity of Peter’s denying oath: he swore to God he didn’t know God!

John’s account takes us deeper into the devastating nature of this wilting. We recall that earlier in John 18, when the mob said they sought Jesus, he replied, “I am” and they fell to the ground for the power of his affirmation. Just a few verses later, Peter is asked if he is one of Jesus’ disciples. He replies “I am not.” Literally, the words are “Not, I am,” or ouk eimi. The contrast could not be starker. Jesus is pure I am: light, life, love, being. Peter, in denying Jesus, negates his very self! Who are you now Peter? NOT I am. Peter disowned Jesus trying to save his own skin. But to cut oneself off from Jesus is to cancel out one’s very life. It is to lose oneself.

It is no wonder that another gospel tells us that after the rooster crowed, Peter “went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22: 62). In stepping away from Jesus, Peter had stepped away from life itself.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Simon Peter Video

Oh Lord, the words said that I can never get back!

The silence when I should have spoken for someone!

The moment for me to stand passed me by.

The hurt I caused; the pain I failed to prevent.

Fear ruled me. My choice for

Self-preservation. Control. Saving Face. Freedom.

I got none of those.

I am ashamed. I am enslaved to my fears.

The life drains out of me, and I am helpless to stop it.

Seizing “me” made me a shell of a person.

Worse, I trained the life out of others.

I now weep bitter tears.

The rooster crows. Time is up.

I am too little too late. Again.

And I know I cannot too quickly resolve

The crisis, turn the story, claim the victory.

I am before you this day a full-fledged Peter at dawn.

Look upon me and see the truth of who you called.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

To deny God is to negate oneself. I once heard a preacher say, “Think of the absurdity of Peter’s denial: Peter swore to God that he didn’t know God! He didn’t want to be where he was, with everything falling apart. He didn’t want even to exist anymore with Jesus being taken away and others accusing him menacingly. So he went to the place of non-sense. The “Not me” of his denial became the “Not I am” of losing himself in denying Jesus. Declaring “I don’t know him!” was equivalent to canceling his own life.

Raniero Cantalamessa describes the self-destroying nature of our denials of Christ:

“By refusing to glorify God, man himself becomes ‘deprived of the glory of God.’ Sin offends God, that is, it saddens him greatly, but only in so far as it brings death to man whom he loves; it wounds his love. . . .

Sin leads to death . . . the ‘state’ of death, that is precisely what has been called ‘mortal illness,’ a state of chronic death. In this state the creature desperately tends to return to being nothing but without succeeding and lives therefore as if in an eternal agony. . . . the creature is obliged by One stronger than himself to be what he does not consent to be, that is dependent on God, and his eternal torment is that he cannot get rid of either God or of himself. . . . He would wish to be left free to return to nothingness. . . . because he does not want to be what he is, dependent on God. . . . this is the way to pure desperation.” (Raniero Cantalamessa, Life in Christ, 1990, pp. 28-29).

Such as the bitter agony Peter experienced that night, and that we, if we resist the truth of Christ which we know, will experience all our lives before we turn back to him.

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Lent - Day 23

Posted on: March 23, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 23 Monday

CAIAPHAS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 11: 47-53

The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not only for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

Matthew 26: 57-68

Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. . . . And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then they spit in his face and struck him.

CAST NOTES

The Council, called the Sanhedrin, was comprised of 70 members. The chief priest elected for the year presided over the meetings.

The first passage describes a Council meeting before Passion Week when they discussed the “Jesus Problem.” There is quite a bit of irony in Caiaphas’ prophecy, which John takes time to explain to us. Politically, it was better for the nation’s peace to put one rabbi to death than allow the crowds he gathered to incite a Roman reaction. This is the old “greater good” argument used by authorities to justify unjust actions. But, of course, the Triune God remained in sovereign control. This one man would die for the nation, indeed for the world. But not to preserve a temporary political peace or for economic stability. He died to redeem us from sin and death. Jesus’ enemies became his unwitting partners in our salvation!

The second passage concerns the summoning of the council to try Jesus that Thursday night following his arrest. Think what urgency it takes to get 70 people together for an all night meeting!

Having made the choice to “drink the cup of his Father’s will,” Jesus made little defense against the confused and false choices brought against him. His calm silence infuriated them all the more. When Caiaphas asked him directly about his identity, Jesus made a clear connection between a crucial prophecy and himself.

Daniel 7: 13-14 envisions a time when “. . . there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples . . . should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away. . . . ” This was a key passage about the day when the LORD would send a glorious Redeemer to set all things right. The “Son of Man” was equivalent to the Messiah, a divine figure, and the hope of all Israel. That Jesus would claim such a passage as being about himself would have sounded like ridiculous blasphemy. For clearly, the world was not yet being put right. Or was it?!

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

There’s a Caiaphas in me, Lord,

Whenever I don’t want anything to change.

When my sight is so dim

That I can’t even glimpse what you are doing.

When my faith is so small

That I think you have forgotten.

I do not believe you will do again

What you have always done:

Turn ashes into beauty,

Restore the years eaten by the locust,

Bring what is lame back to strength,

Reconcile enemies,

Raise life out of death.

I try to swat you away.

Make do with my meager compromises.

Snuff out new beginnings and new life.

Treat your call as a threat.

Cling to my crumbs and never let go.

Lord Jesus, I have failed to see

How you are the fulfillment of all I want.

The ruin of “my life my way”

Is the gateway to everlasting life.

You died for the good of all.

I thought that meant getting rid of you,

But what blessed relief that you return again and again.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 22

Posted on: March 22, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

JESUS' ARREST AND TRIAL

Week 4

Antonio Ciseri. Ecce Homo (Behold the Man). 1870.

Thursday night into Friday morning Passion Week darkened into the sham trial and conviction of Jesus as a rebel. The naked power of evil worked through those in charge, from the high priest of Israel to the Roman governor. The crowd of ordinary people exhibited the worst of human nature, intoxicated by the prospect of blood and the condemnation of fitting a scapegoat. These were our worst hours.

As his accusers grew less rational and more frenzied, Jesus deepened in his calm. He seemed at peace. This only fueled their fury. They, we, knew he was innocent and decided not to care.

In this vivid painting by Antonio Ciseri (1871), we see Pilate presenting Jesus to the crowd. Crowned with thorns, arms tied behind his back, dwarfed by the mighty building of Pilate’s palace, Jesus appeared thoroughly subdued. “Behold the man!” Pilate cried out. And to the evil one and all those under his sway, this seemed like the triumph of fully defacing the image of God in humanity. The raw God-hatred deep in our hearts did this to Jesus.

Only Jesus still believed this was not the end of the story.

Day 22 Sunday

JESUS AT HIS ARREST

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 18: 1-11

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

CAST NOTES

Today we look from a different angle at the scene of Judas leading the soldiers to arrest Jesus. We note immediately the calm of Jesus. Into the garden peace of a night on the Mount of Olives came the blare of torches, the clatter of weapons and the tramping of rough feet. Jesus did not run nor shrink back. He came forward and asked an obvious question. He made them say his name, “Jesus of Nazareth.” John records that Jesus replied with two simple Greek words: ego eimi, I am. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus had spoken of himself in terms such as “I am the light of the world. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the good shepherd.” Now he speaks an unadorned, simple “I am.” We cannot help but recall the time when the LORD revealed his name to Moses as “I AM” (Exod. 3: 14). This is raw revelation. The eternal Son of God stood before them and declared his identity.

Teaching on this passage, my beloved Dr. Kelly quoted, “A beam of Uncreated Light/Pierced the dark Judean night.” Hearing that simple statement, the band of armed, trained soldiers fell to the ground. No one can stand in the presence of holy God unveiled. This reveal was but for a moment, but we realize with crystal clarity, that no army was overpowering Jesus. No earthly powers controlled these events. He went voluntarily, submitting himself to the plan that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had made before the world began.

What do you think made the soldiers fall down? How does Peter’s action contrast with Jesus’ resolve? What made Jesus so calm?

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Today, we will revisit the prayer Jesus made so shortly before his arrest, the moments with his Father in which he drew on the strength needed to face the hour. I invite you to read this prayer aloud several times. As you read, add your Amen, your “Yes” of thanks and wonder to each line.

Father, the hour has come. Amen.

Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you. Amen.

You have given him authority over all flesh. Amen.

To give eternal life to all whom you have given him. Amen.

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, Amen.

The only true God, Amen.

And Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Amen.

I glorified you on earth, Amen.

Having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. Amen.

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence, Amen.

With the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Amen.

(John 17: 1-5)

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

Today’s passage brings up the concept of kenosis, which means emptying. In Philippians 2: 7, Paul wrote that though Jesus was by very nature the Son of God, “he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Jesus laid aside the prerogatives of his divinity. He accepted the limitations of our human nature. He was God who came among us as one of us, in order to save us.

In today’s episode, Jesus shows that he is quite aware of who he has always, eternally been: the great I AM. Then he deliberately humbles himself by letting them arrest him. The arrest, trial and crucifixion happened solely because Jesus gave himself over. He emptied himself. Kenosis.

Paul would continue, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2: 8).

Charles Wesley’s magnificent hymn “And Can It Be?” expressed why kenosis matters so much to us.

He left his Father’s throne above,

So free, so infinite his grace!

Emptied himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam’s helpless race.

Tis mercy all, immense and free,

For O my God, it found out me.

Amazing love! How can it be

That thou my God shouldst die for me!

Posted in:

Lent - Day 21

Posted on: March 21, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 21 Saturday

JUDAS, PART 2

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Matthew 26: 47-50

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus, and seized him.

Luke 22: 47-8

While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

CAST NOTES

Jesus finished his struggle in prayer just in time. From the agony of resisting to the peace of resolution, he would hereafter show an uncanny calm in the face of his passion. He saw Judas leading the soldiers with swords and the mob with clubs. He accepted the kiss of greeting. But he made note of the irony. Gently, it seems, he became the mirror for Judas as he called his name. “Would you betray me with a kiss?”

For Judas, it must have all seemed too smooth. Easy money to take them to Jesus. So predictable that he would be on the Mount of Olives amidst the trees making his prayers. So ridiculous that the authorities asked him to i.d. a man they’d seen all week in public places.

Was his skin crawling as he saw it through? Did he think of turning back? Was his stomach sick or his heart pounding? There is no indication of any pause. He just saw it through for reasons we cannot fathom.

We all know these moments. The millisecond before you threw the punch, knowing the fight that would follow. The clamping down on emotion just as you deliver the words that will break a heart. The pause before you press “send” on an incendiary email. The sound of an invisible door closing as you take the money, sign your name or press the trigger. No return. We did it and nothing will ever be the same. Something dies. Something is cut off. God seems to depart. The loneliness washes in like a tide.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

As before, we note how deliberate betrayal of God cuts off our ability to pray. So Judas could only cry out as a solitary man; his prayers were but self-conversations.

He knew what I would do.

He told the others it was me while I was still there.

That backed me into the corner.

One more chance to say, “No” and face their stupid, pious looks.

He told me to do it quickly, as if he wanted me to do it.

It was so quick. So easy.

I greeted him like an old friend.

I called him Teacher like I always had,

But he knew I would learn no more from him.

I kissed him full on the cheek.

I can still feel the tickle from his thick beard.

For a flash, our eyes met. His gaze steady, mine in retreat.

I knew I would never touch him again.

Never see him again.

He called me by name, Judas!

He made sure no one would ever forget me.

Judas is betrayal with a soft word and a tender kiss.

I did it. Played my part. Took the extreme.

So everyone else could feel better about themselves.

But they’re not so different.

They just lacked courage to see it through.

Only I did it. Handed over the Son of Man as smoothly as a kiss.

Only I. Alone. Unique. The baddest. The boldest. The I, I am.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

We know that Jesus knew the psalms and prayed them regularly. His many quotations of psalms in his speech reveal that Jesus knew the psalms intimately. They were ready at hand for his use. In fact, these prayers written a millennium before Jesus walked among us, provided scripts for events Jesus would experience. He could find lyrics for his life as he recalled the psalms in specific situations. Consider how these excerpts from David’s Psalm 55 might have been meaningful to Jesus during Judas’ betrayal. And consider how reading this psalm following his actions might have seared Judas’ soul.

My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen

upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me,

and horror overwhelms me.

And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like

a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

yes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness;

I would hurry to find a shelter

from the raging wind and tempest.”

For it is not an enemy who taunts

me—

then I could bear it;

it is not an adversary who deals

insolently with me—

then I could hide from him.

But it is you, a man, my equal,

my companion, my familiar friend.

We used to take sweet counsel

together;

within God's house we walked in

the throng . . .

My companion stretched out his hand

against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

His speech was smooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart;

his words were softer than oil,

yet they were drawn swords.

Cast your burden on the LORD,

and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

But you, O God, will cast them down

into the pit of destruction;

men of blood and treachery

shall not live out half their days.

But I will trust in you.

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Lent - Day 20

Posted on: March 20, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 20 Friday

DISCIPLES, PART 2: GETHSEMANE

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Mark 14: 32-42

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

CAST NOTES

As Thursday night wore on, the feast was over and Jesus went out to pray. There his passion began. First the titanic struggle with the repulsion for the hours ahead. The horror of the physical torture. The shame of the mockery and false accusations. The sting of derision from a crowd that had only days earlier adored him. But worst of all, the bearing of sin. The reception of the wrath of his Father against the evil of the human race. Being cut off from any awareness of the Presence that was his very heartbeat. The sense of displeasing the Father he loved and served with his whole being. The becoming sin. Utter dereliction. Sorrow to the depths of his soul. Jesus struggled to say, “Yes” to the will of God. In those moments, he needed his disciples. He yearned for the companionship of their presence, to feel as if they were with him.

Note again what he asked from them: Sit here. Remain here. Watch. Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

Note again how they responded: He found them sleeping. Their eyes were very heavy. They did not know what to answer him.

The moment was too much. We know well how hard it is to keep watch, to be vigilantly attentive, to one who is suffering without relief. By a hospital bed. Knocking on the door to break the news of a suicide. Listening on the phone to the story of break up by betrayal. Watching an adult child make a destructive choice and being helpless to stop it. It can all be so overwhelming that we just can’t stay with it. Our heads are so heavy we nearly fall over. We do not know how to answer the need of the moment.

All Jesus wanted was the companionship of those who stayed with him. Our hearts break to know we could not give it to him in his supreme solitary struggle.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Lord Jesus, what happened to me?

When you needed me, actually needed something from me,

I fell asleep.

The darkness thick like a curtain.

The air was so heavy, it pushed me down.

I saw you go to the ground.

You didn’t look like my Jesus.

All of a sudden, the rabbi I loved

“Had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

And no beauty that we should desire him.”

I felt goaded to despise you, to hide my face from the sight of you.

I fought against the feeling,

But you looked like a beaten man who needs a kick.

“Feeble and crushed,” like one who deserved it.

I knew better but I could not move toward you,

Could not fight the sleep,

Could not stave off my failure in your hour of need.

You were the sin-bearer, and

I could take no part of it, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t.

You were alone as you had to be,

And it stabs me to the heart to know my part in your lonely hell.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis created the great Lion Aslan as an allegory for Jesus. In chapter 14, Lewis describes how Aslan walked dejectedly toward the Stone Table to give himself as a sacrifice for the boy Edmund’s betrayal. Two other children, Lucy and Susan, followed at a distance, until Aslan noticed them. He asked them,

“Oh children, children, why are you following me?”

“Please, may we come with you—wherever you’re going?” said Susan.

“I should be glad of company tonight. Yes, you may come, if you will promise to stop when I tell you, and after that leave me to go on alone.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you. And we will,” said the two girls.

Forward they went again and one of the girls walked on each side of the Lion. But how slowly he walked! And his great, royal head drooped so that his nose nearly touched the grass. Presently he stumbled and gave a low moan.

"Aslan! Dear Aslan!” said Lucy, “what is wrong? Can’t you tell us?” “Are you ill, dear Aslan?” asked Susan.

“No,” said Aslan. “I am sad and lonely. Lay your hands on my mane so that I can feel you are there and let us walk like that.”

So the two girls bury their hands in his thick mane and walk with Aslan, keeping company with him as long as possible.

Compare and contrast this scene with Jesus and his disciples in Gethsemane.

Posted in:

Lent - Day 19

Posted on: March 19, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 19 Thursday

SIMON PETER, PART 2

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Luke 22: 31-34

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Mark 14: 27-31

And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

CAST NOTES

On the last night, Jesus knew his disciples would fall away. Peter’s great heart could not imagine running away. Prison. A fight. Death. He felt like he would face it all.

It seemed the deep faith in Peter particularly grated on the evil one. In a mysterious passage, Jesus speaks of Satan “demanding” to sift Peter. This reminds us of the Book of Job when Satan got permission from God to test Job with affliction (Job 2: 1-8). Somehow, Jesus in his prayers to his Father had learned of this specific desire from the opposition behind all earthly opposition.

I find it difficult, even treacherous, to discern which part of our suffering comes from the way a fallen world is, the actions of sinful people against us, the results of our own choices, or particular activity of Satan. All these seem to combine. And we don’t need to figure out which is which in order to see the effect of “sifting.” The old way of separating the edible grains of wheat from the inedible sheaf, or chaff, was a violent process. It involved beating the wheat stalk against a stone or hard earth threshing floor until the kernels were loosened. We’ve all experienced such painful sifting. And how later what remains, or grows, is a greater good than we could have expected.

In this instance, Jesus interposed his prayers against Satan’s desire to sift Peter. Storms rage. Winds howl. Evil yammers and yells. But Jesus quietly pits his words, “But I have prayed for you” against all the shredding forces. Paul reminds us that even now Jesus intercedes for us (Rom. 8: 34). These prayers did not prevent Peter from being tempted, or even from failing. Nor do Jesus’ prayers prevent our being tempted or making choices. But the prayers of Jesus did assure that Peter would recover and grow stronger. And they assure us that good grain will rise as the chaff falls away during sifting. God still works what is meant for evil into good, over time, for those who love him (Rom. 8: 28).

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

I swore I would be true, and I meant it.

I would never . . .

You can count on me . . .

I’m not like all the others . . .

I am prepared to suffer for you . . .

But again you crushed me

With your predictions.

And again you surprised me

With assurances and a mission.

You have prayed for me.

With all that is upon you,

All your cares, all the needs,

You have prayed for me.

For me!

You put your faith in the gap for me.

You take the brunt.

You bear the load.

You keep watch.

You stand for me as you kneel before your Father.

My faith will not fail, you have prayed it.

But there will be something from which I must turn again.

Some place I will go from which I must come back.

You will crush me, and surprise me

You will soothe me and you will send me.

You have prayed for me.

I can only rest in those prayers.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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Lent - Day 18

Posted on: March 18, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 18 Wednesday

THE DISCIPLES, PART 1: AT THE LAST SUPPER

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

Luke 22: 14-30

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

CAST NOTES

The Passion Week accounts focus heavily on the words and actions of Judas and Peter. But there were ten other disciples in the other room. In today’s accounts, they function as one character. As a collective that includes all of us.

Curiously, Luke uses the word “apostles” at the beginning of our passage. That’s a term which means “sent ones.” It is most often used after Pentecost when the disciples were sent in the power of the Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus throughout the world. On Jesus’ last night, the disciples were certainly not acting like the men who would within a few months be turning the world upside down with the gospel.

Yet the deliberate choice of this out of place word indicates the faith Jesus continued to have in those he called to himself.

This stuns us, because the disciples had just given the strongest evidence yet of their general cluelessness!

Jesus had just interrupted the Passover meal with news about himself. This annual sacred meal included the retelling of the wondrous deeds of the LORD in the Exodus. The story telling happened while certain foods were eaten and cups of wine were raised at particular moments. Jesus took the bread that represented the miraculous manna with which the LORD fed his people and declared it to be about his body which would be sacrificed for them. He took up the third cup, the cup of redemption, and declared it to be his blood, the new covenant by which God redeems his people. Jesus had just made Passover to be the Lord’s Supper!

The disciples responded by starting a dispute over which one of them would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven! Every time we get distracted from what matters most by a focus on our own ambitions and concerns, we step into the character of clueless disciples.

Yet, Jesus remained ever patient. He assured them of future communion with him in the kingdom to come.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

You break the bread, and I wonder if it’s gluten free.

You offer your very self to me,

Yet I obsess over whether it’s just a symbol.

You lift the cup of wine and I want to know

Is it wine or grape juice?

You create a new covenant in your blood,

And I still think the one with the most toys wins.

You give us a sacred way to remember you

And I am on my phone.

You create one body in one bread, and we let this divide us.

Lord, how do you endure your church?

How do you keep faith in us?

Yet in your brilliance, you take the result of our faithlessness—your death—and make it the sign of your everlasting, unconditional, redemptive love.

Grant us grace, Lord Jesus, to eat your body and drink your blood in such a way that we become more and more one with you and each other.

Grant us grace to look up from our lives and see you.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

Posted in:

Lent - Day 17

Posted on: March 17, 2020
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

Day 17 Tuesday

SIMON PETER, PART 1

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

John 13: 1-17

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

CAST NOTES

Simon Peter is a large character. He’s all in. He’s the man of grand statements and dramatic gestures.

As Simon, he made the bold confession “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16: 16). In reply, Jesus called him “blessed” and named him Peter (which means rock), as the foundation for Christ’s church (Matt. 16: 18). Then just minutes later replied to Jesus’ prediction of his suffering, “Far be it from you, Lord!” (Matt. 16: 22). And Jesus had to say to his Rock, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me” (Matt. 16: 23).

In this passage, just hours before Jesus’ arrest, we again see Peter’s hot and cold, large, all-out-there character.

Jesus stripped himself to stoop down to wash his disciples’ feet, the lowliest of servile acts. Peter was horrified! He wanted to prevent his Lord this humiliation. But when Jesus declared it to be a condition of being joined to him, Peter asked for a whole bath! He loved Jesus utterly. Often confusedly, but always whole-heartedly.

What do you admire about Peter? For me, it’s the fact that even in his failures, Peter loved Jesus so passionately. He moves me to open more of my heart to Christ.

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

Lord, you always surprise me!

You asked me to fish where there are no fish.

And then the boat nearly sank with the catch.

Instead of joy, I felt the terror of my sin.

You crushed me with your holiness.

But then you called me to fish with you for people.

You left us alone to row in the wind and the waves.

When we were nearly spent, you came walking on the water.

I wanted to join you there upon the water.

And you told me “Come!”

Eyes on you I walked above the sea,

But then I looked down and my fear crushed me.

I squealed like a child for you to save me.

Of course you stretched out your hand.

You let me call you Lord and Christ, the very Son of God.

You said I could be your Rock.

Then you told me you had to go to Jerusalem to die.

How could I let you?

Then you crushed me when you called me Satan.

I only wanted to save you and ended up hampering you.

But always you forgave.

Tonight when we should have been serving you,

You stooped with the basin and the towel.

How could I let you?

But then you crushed me again,

Threatening that I had no share with you.

But Lord, I only want to be with you!

Why do you twist me around like this?

I am ever undone by you.

Ever remade by you.

Ever restored by you.

I so often miss the point,

I do not see you coming.

But do not give up on me.

You know, Lord, you know, I love you.

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

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First Thoughts Blog

WEEK THREE GOD WILL DWELL WITH US!

Chas Hathaway. I Will Help. ChristianArtExpo. Etsy.

GOD DWELLS IN THE GARDEN TEMPLE

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights. c. 1500, Musea del Prado, Madrid.

Christopher Powers. Revelation 5:5. October 2019, https://www.fullofeyes.com/revelation-55/

Francisco de Zurbarán. Agnus Dei.1640, Prado Museum.

Sacrifices of Abel, Melchisedec and Abraham. Mosaic from the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, 6th century. Wikimedia Commons.

WEEK TWO BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!

Lamb of God. 18th century, Florence, Italy. Alamy.

THE OFFERING OF ABEL

Atlas Lifting the World. Contemporary. Alamy.

Antonio Berti. St. Paul the Weaver. 20th century, Vatican Museums, Galleria d’Arte Religiosa Moderna.

WEEK ONE CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

IN THE BEGINNING. . . .

Jean Bondol and Nicolas Bataille. River Flowing from the Throne of God. The Tapestry of the Apocalypse, 1377–1382, Château d’Angers, Angers, France. Alamy.

Day 42 Saturday

JESUS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

CAST NOTES

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

Day 41 Friday

PETER, PART 4

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

CAST NOTES

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

Day 40 Thursday

DISCIPLES, PART 3

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

CAST NOTES

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

Day 39 Wednesday

THOMAS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

CAST NOTES

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

ENCORE

Day 38 Tuesday

CLEOPAS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

CAST NOTES

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

Day 37 Monday

MARY MAGDALENE

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

CAST NOTES

PRAYING IN CHARACTER

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20: 31).

MEETING THE RISEN JESUS

Week Six

Day 36 Sunday

THE MARYS

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3).

FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

WEEK THREE
GOD WILL DWELL WITH US!

WEEK TWO
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!

WEEK ONE
CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH